Manila urged to work with bloc on China

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa has suggested that the Philippines “synergise” its efforts to deal with a territorial dispute in the South China Sea with the diplomatic channel set up within the Asean framework.

Marty made the comment when asked by journalists about Manila’s recent move to bring its territorial dispute with China over sections of the South China Sea to a United Nations arbitration tribunal. Beijing has refused to be part of the process.

“We have just renewed our commitment that territorial disputes in the South China Sea, or what the Philippines calls the West Philippine Sea, be resolved through peaceful, diplomatic means, or in the case of the Philippines, through the tribunal processes that they have engaged in,” Marty said after meeting with the Philippines Foreign Secretary Albert F del Rosario in Jakarta on Monday.

“Whatever the choice of avenue, the most important point is that this must be resolved by peaceful means,” he added. “What I have highlighted is that legal efforts and political diplomacy must be synergised. We don’t want to see one as counterproductive to the other.”

But Marty balked when asked if the legal efforts carried out by Manila could hinder Asean's diplomatic push to craft a binding code of conduct with China.

Marty said his discussions with del Rosario on the issue were extensive.

“I also conveyed the outcome of the discussions on the issue I have had during my recent meetings with various foreign ministers, such as those of the US, China and Japan,” Marty said.

They continued discussion on the issue during a working dinner held later on Monday.

The top diplomats, however, did not disclose details of that discussion and del Rosario was not available to answer questions from reporters.

“The code of conduct will only be relevant if it is timely, otherwise the situation will render it redundant. We must work to ensure that it becomes reality sooner rather than later,” Marty said.

He added that they did not discuss a recent incident, in which Manila claimed the Chinese military had attacked Philippine fishermen.

The Philippines’ military chief, General Emmanuel Bautista, on Monday accused China’s coastguard of firing a water cannon at Filipino fishermen to drive them away from a disputed sea shoal.

He said the incident occurred on January 27 near the Scarborough Shoal – the focus of a bitter territorial row in the strategically important South China Sea.

He did not say if anyone was hurt and added that China continued to float an armed coast guard and other vessels at the shoal.

“We continue to give primacy to its [the dispute’s] peaceful resolution principally through international arbitration,” Bautista said. “All our actions are in support of that. We remain hopeful that the issue can be resolved peacefully and result in peace and stability in the region.”

He added that “our resolve to perform our mandate as protectors of the people and the state and of our national territory” had not been weakened.

“We will continue to perform that mandate with whatever we’ve got,” he said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying did not directly address the allegation when asked about it on Monday.

“I would like to re-emphasise that China has indisputable sovereignty over relevant waters and China’s maritime surveillance fleet is carrying out routine patrols in relevant waters,” she told reporters in Beijing.

AFP reported yesterday that Philippine President Benigno Aquino demanded an explanation from China over a report its coastguard had fired water cannon at Filipino fishermen at a disputed shoal. 

Aquino said the foreign department had been asked to file a “diplomatic message”, a day after the Philippines' military chief told reporters of the incident at Scarborough Shoal – the subject of a bitter territorial row in the South China Sea. “The first step would be a diplomatic message... directed at the People's Republic of China to ask them to explain what this incident was all about, what their intentions are,” Aquino told reporters, when asked whether a formal protest would be lodged.

The Scarborough Shoal lies 220 kilometres from the main Philippine island of Luzon, while it is about 650km from Hainan Island, the nearest major Chinese land mass.