MALAYA: GRAPPLING WITH REALITIES
MANILA, SEPTEMBER 24, 2011 (MALAYA) 'Going to war is not an option. Diplomacy is the key.'
PRESIDENT Aquino dropped a rather cryptic note during the open forum that followed his speech before the highly influential Asia Society in New York when he expressed the Philippines's commitment to maintain good neighbourly relations with China.
"In our competing claims in the West Philippine Sea, we have already drawn the line between what is disputed and non-disputed in terms of where we would never relinquish our sovereign rights," he said.
This is a reiteration of earlier declaration that "what is ours is ours" although phrased in a less bellicose way. We presume that Aquino, during his recent visit to China, made clear to his host where the Philippines is open to negotiations and where its stand is non-negotiable. Since diplomatic efforts are ongoing to sort out the complicated issues on ther disputed South China Sea territories, the Philippine position understandably remains under wraps.
But we can speculate and raise some questions.
During his last State of the Nation Address, Aquino named the Reed Bank as among the non-negotiables. That's a solid claim to stake as the Reed Bank off Palawan is clearly within the country's 200-mile exclusive economic. The problem is that China has staken a stronger claim: that the Reed Bank is part of its territorial waters. But if China is willing let the Philippines proceed with oil exploration on the Reed Bank for now in the interest of maintaining neighborly relations, fine.
What about the Spratlys proper (Kalayaan Group)? The Baselines Act declares it a regime of islands within the national territory. Again, this is a stronger claim than inclusion in the Philippine EEZ. The reality, however, is that save on a couple of islands occupied by Philippine troops, Manila's writ does not extend over the regime of islands it claims.
Proof? Chinese fishermen regularly fish this territory and Philippine Navy or Coast Guard ships cannot arrest them in the face the protection offered by Chinese warships.
The most interesting issue is Malampaya where the Philippines has its only natural gas production facility. The Malampaya facility, which fuels almost half of Luzon's generating capacity, lies about 80 miles off northwest Palawan. Malampaya falls within the territorial waters of the Philippines under the Treaty of Paris. It is now, however, outside Philippine territory under the Baselines Law which limits the territorial waters to 12 miles from the nearest baseline, in this case, Palawan.
The Navy's newly acquired Hamilton-class cutter has been given the mission of protecting the Malampaya platform. But what can the cutter really do? It cannot interdict any foreign warship or civilian vessel roaming the waters around the platform. Doing so in the high seas constitutes casus belli.
These are the hard realities the Philippines faces. Going to war is not an option. Diplomacy is the key. The leadership may be forgiven for some of its gaffes domestically. But there is no room for bungling when dealing with other countries.
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Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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