A DAY before the arrival of a Japanese destroyer, Malacañang fired back at statements made by China’s foreign minister that the Philippines is committing “political arrogance” in instituting the arbitration case before the United Nations to resolve the territorial conflict in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).
Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio B. Coloma Jr. said the Philippines’s diplomatic route in trying to resolve the territorial conflict in its favor is supported by the international community.
Coloma issued the statement a day before the arrival of the Japanese ship Ise (DDH 182), a destroyer and helicopter carrier, on April 25.
Ise, which belongs to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, will visit the country under a strengthened defense relations, wherein both countries are facing an aggressive China in the West Philippine Sea.
The docking of Ise at Subic Bay would be the third such visit into the country this month by a Japanese warship, according to Navy Spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Marineth Domingo.
Ise will mark its presence in the country amid the joint air and maritime patrols that were already being conducted by the United States and the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea, which are both geared on checking China’s activity in the area. Ise would stay for four days, Domingo said.
China arrogance
IN a radio interview, Coloma said China’s “intimidation” tactics, military buildup and unilateral civilian and military activities in the disputed territories demonstrate China’s own arrogance.
“In the recent meeting of the G7 foreign ministers in Hiroshima, Japan, the countries of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US have expressed their strong opposition to the intimidating, coercive or provocative unilateral actions that could alter the status quo and increase tensions in the West Philippine Sea,” Coloma said. “This clearly shows that it is not only the Philippines who believes the filing of the arbitration case is appropriate.”
Coloma added the said members of the G7 reiterated the importance of “peaceful management and settlement of maritime disputes through applicable internationally-recognized legal, dispute-settlement mechanisms, including arbitration.”
Over the weekend, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was quoted by Chinese media as saying the Philippines’s pressure for China to recognize the jurisdiction of the arbitration court of the UN is a form of “political arrogance or legal prejudice.”
The arbitration case lodged by the Philippines before the Permanent Court of Arbitration under the UN is expected to come up with a decision on the territorial dispute between the Philippines and China over parts of the South China Sea.
Although China continues to refuse to recognize the jurisdiction of the arbitration court, a favorable decision for the Philippines would be binding on China, and could be enforced based on the international law principle that all countries should comply with international law and its treaty obligations in good faith, especially with the support of the G7 countries regarding the filing of the arbitration case.