By Delon Porcalla (The Philippine Star)
PHNOM PENH – The Philippines wants the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to take a common stand on regional maritime disputes, particularly over the potentially oil-rich Spratly Islands, before dealing with China on the issue.
“On the Code of Conduct, it is important for ASEAN to first agree among themselves on the draft text of the COC before meeting with China,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario declared yesterday in a statement read before a gathering of foreign ministers of the regional bloc.
“The Philippines believes that the COC must contain the following fundamental elements: Guidelines by which stakeholder-states are to conduct themselves in the West Philippine Sea,” Del Rosario said.
“I think the difference of opinion lies in the fact that we are advocating that a draft of the COC be prepared before we sit down with China,” he said. “Others are taking the view that China should be invited to come in for the initial discussion.”
He stressed the need for “mechanisms on dispute settlement, including the appropriate structure for its effective implementation” as well as “provisions relating to cooperative activities, as may be appropriate, for the disputed areas.”
He reiterated the country’s adherence to international laws, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), in dealing with the regional problem.
“We believe that a rules-based approach under the dispute settlement mechanism established in UNCLOS is the legitimate solution in addressing conflicting and overlapping claims in the West Philippine Sea,” he added.
“The Philippines hopes that the Code of Conduct will be a real move forward not merely in terms of form, but more importantly in substance,” the foreign affairs secretary stated further.
The Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) was signed here in 2002, between ASEAN and China.
“As we commemorate the 10th anniversary of the DOC, I would like to reaffirm our commitment to the maintenance of peace and stability in the region. The Philippines is pleased to note that the ASEAN Working Group is now working to identify the main elements of the regional Code of Conduct,” Del Rosario said.
In the previous ASEAN summit, President Aquino proposed the creation of a Zone of Peace, Freedom, Friendship and Cooperation (ZoPFFC) in the West Philippine Sea, or South China Sea to the Chinese.
But Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said ASEAN should hear China’s views before presenting Beijing with a draft code.
He said it was important to “listen and we hear what China’s views are so that we can really develop a position that is cohesive and coherent.”
During Indonesia’s chairmanship of the regional bloc least year, ASEAN and China agreed on a set of guidelines for the proposed code, ending a nine-year impasse.
A senior Southeast Asian diplomat said countries were also divided on whether to include a dispute settlement mechanism in the code.
ASEAN members Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, along with China and Taiwan, have overlapping claims in the South China Sea, a conduit for more than one-third of the world’s seaborne trade and half its traffic in oil and gas.
The Philippines and Vietnam accuse China of aggressively asserting its claims in recent years, leading to minor clashes that diplomats and military commanders fear could quickly escalate into major conflicts.
“The Philippines hopes that the code of conduct will be a real ‘move forward’ not merely in terms of form, but more importantly in substance,” Del Rosario said.
Still, he said he hoped ASEAN and China would sign the code this year during Cambodia’s chairmanship of the regional bloc.
The 20th ASEAN summit coincides with the 45th anniversary celebration of the regional bloc.
ASEAN leaders are also here for the 8th Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia Philippines East Asian Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) summit.
A plenary session immediately follows today’s ASEAN summit opening. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen will later host a lunch.
A “retreat” for ASEAN leaders will be held tomorrow (April 4, Wednesday), during which Aquino is expected to raise the issue on the West Philippine Sea as well as the planned launching of a satellite-carrying ballistic missile by North Korea. After the conference, the ASEAN leaders will again convene here for the 8th BIMP-EAGA summit.
Aquino will later meet with the Filipino community at the Phokeetra Grand Ballroom 2, Sofitel, where he will be welcomed by ambassador Noe Wong and introduced by Del Rosario.
He will return to Manila tomorrow night via Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.
Success stories
Meanwhile, Wong said the Filipino community here is composed mostly of professionals, managers, and supervisors.
Wong said over Radio-TV Malacañang there are hardly any sad stories among the 3,497 documented Filipinos here whose number can reach as high as 6,000 if the unregistered and those working in the borders in nearby Vietnam and Thailand are included.
“I think it’s one of the countries where we have very few problems as far as OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) are concerned. Most of the Filipinos here are gainfully employed, not as domestic helpers compared to other countries,” Wong said.
Many Filipinos here also work for United Nations agencies like Unicef and UNDP. “They say we’re proud of Filipinos here. They’re well respected by Cambodians and the international community,” he said over Radio-TV Malacañang.
“So, it is a reflection of how well-off or gainfully employed are Filipinos here,” he said.
“They are supervisors of particular sectors or even heads of food and beverage. So, it’s a managerial supervisory function. In garments, hindi sila iyung nananahi (they’re not sewers anymore). They supervise a group of Cambodian garment workers, so there’s a lot of difference,” Wong added.
Around 400 Filipino teachers also work in international schools here, where the trend is for locals to learn English. “Maybe it’s a global phenomenon that almost everybody wants to learn English, because of globalization.”
The Filipino’s strength of character and pleasing personality also stand out, he said. “Our human resource, to me that’s one basic quality that makes us maybe a little bit above some other ASEAN people,” Wong pointed out.
“Plus our caring attitude, how we deal with fellow persons, and of course, our language proficiency. It’s the thing that really sets us apart, especially in Cambodia,” he said.
“Once you know how to be fluent in English, it’s a real advantage. So, those are some qualities but of course, our human resource is one thing that really makes us different,” Wong said. – With Pia Lee-Brago
2 comments:
Countries that involved in South China Sea should know that Cambodia is THE MOST CORRUPT COUNTRY in the world. To Cambodia, money can do any thing, in this case, blocking from talk to find the resolution for peace in South China Sea. Why? because China throw more than half of billion dollars to Cambodia NOT TO TALK about it in the meeting.
Whose idea is it to make Cambodia a chair of ASEAN?
Spratly!Spratly Islands !China sea Island!
How about Koh Trol,ah Hun Sen kept
his mouth shut.It is larger than
Singapore.
Ah Hun Sen kept quiet,and two and
half million Khmer oversea kept
their mouths shut too.
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