Fishery deals may be 'window of opportunity'

Pursuing joint fishery agreements with China is a “window of opportunity” for peacefully resolving the Philippines’ dispute with its neighbour over territories in the West Philippine Sea.

This is part of the key policy recommendations and “salient, actionable proposals” that international law experts and scholars will submit to President Benigno Aquino III, former Senator Edgardo Angara has said.

The experts met in Manila last month for a two-day forum and roundtable discussion on “promoting cooperation and resolving crises in Asian territorial maritime disputes.”

Conducted under the auspices of the Angara Centre, the forum gathered a select group of recognised experts in international law: Donald Emmerson (Stanford University, United States); Yoichiro Sato (Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Japan); Shen Dingli (Fudan University, China); Ian Storey (Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore); and Harry Roque (University of the Philippines).

The experts presented a variety of approaches and ideas that could assist ongoing discussion on the dispute by policy makers and the public.

Exploring the possibility of joint fishing agreements could be timely amid the new fishing restrictions that China has sought to impose on disputed portions of the South China Sea, which include parts of the sea within the Philippines’ 327-kilometre exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Beijing has authorised the maritime police of Hainan province to board and seize foreign vessels entering what it considers to be Chinese waters.

“Fish are migratory and no one can, or should, claim exclusive domain. Coastal countries with overlapping claims will jointly benefit through joint regulations on fishing and joint-fish species management. But not through strong-arm methods unbecoming of an emerging power,” Angara said.

The Angara Centre for Law and Economics organised the special one-day forum last December 5, which was followed by a closed-door roundtable discussion the following day, “to make recommendations that go beyond conventional wisdom,” said Angara, who retired last year after a three-decade career in politics and public service.

The Angara Centre is a think-tank, which the former senator founded “to elevate the level of discourse on domestic and international issues that confront the country.”

It aims to generate rigorous, high-quality law and economics research that is especially important in Philippine policy-making.