Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro “Teddy Boy” Locsin Jr. and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discussed on Thursday “shared interests,” a day after Beijing called for the resumption of talks on a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.
Tweeting on US government Twitter account, Pompeo, shown with his photograph said, “Good call today with Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs @teddyboylocsin to discuss our shared interests in the South China Sea. The US-Philippine Alliance is vital to a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
The two secretaries also discussed the “strong economic, security, and people-to-people ties that bind the US and Philippines.”
Pompeo’s call came two days after Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, during an exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency, accusing US of seeking to disrupt the negotiations for a Code of Conduct (COC) in the SCS. Xinhua is the official state-run news agency of the People’s Republic of China.
Accused of delaying the COC to prepare itself and strengthen its position in the contested waters, China now wants to expedite the resumption of the long-delayed talks with Asean member-countries.
“Under the current situation, China proposes that we remove all disturbances to restart as soon as possible the Code of Conduct consultation and agree as early as possible on a set of rules for maintaining long-term peace and stability in the region,” Wang said on Wednesday.
Once agreed upon, the COC will impose a limited course of activities in the resource-rich waters where some $3 trillion worth of products sail through.
Last June, President Duterte said negotiations for a COC between the 10-member regional bloc and China were facing “real constraints in dealing with the deliverables” amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Despite the pandemic, however, Beijing continues to aggressively pursue moves in the strategic ocean by conducting military exercises in the Paracels. The UN military countered China’s moves, sending two aircraft carrier on two occasions in the SCS last month.
On Wednesday, Wang hit what he described as “provocative actions” by the US in the global waterway.
“[T]he US keeps increasing and showing off its military presence in the South China Sea. In the first half of this year alone, the US sent military aircraft there more than 2,000 times,” Wang pointed out.
The US conducts freedom of navigation operations, or FONOPS, in the 3.5 million square kilometer domain, claimed by six countries, although America said it has no claim on any part of the SCS.
Military analysts said the US moves to engage China is the Trump administration’s way to divert its citizens attention at a time when US had to deal with 4,890,000 Covid-19 cases and 160,000 and rising.
The US Department of State issued a strongly worded statement in July, supporting the Philippines and other Southeast Asian coastal states in protecting their exclusive economic zones in the contested waters and territory.
Wang said the US should adhere to its “long-standing commitment of not taking sides” in the dispute. Aside from the Philippines and China, Taiwan and Asean member-states Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei have competing claims in the resource-rich waters.
“The US is seeking to drive a wedge between China and Asean countries, and disrupt the consultation process of the Code of Conduct,” Wang charged.
“All regional countries should be vigilant, and prevent this region’s hard-won peace and development from being sabotaged by the US,” he said.
Wang reiterated that disputes should be settled through bilateral dialogue, a stance shared by the Duterte administration.
China also lauded President Duterte’s fifth State of the Nation Address last month where he pushed for an independent foreign policy and non-confrontational stance on the maritime dispute.
The President also directed Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and Secretary Locsin not to allow any foreign bases in the country, choosing to remain neutral in the wake of the two sparring superpowers.
Last week, Pompeo issued a statement congratulating the Asean Secretariat on the 53rd anniversary of the founding of Asean on August 8.
He said Asean and Asean-led mechanisms are at the heart of the US vision for the Indo-Pacific and that of our allies and partners. “The strategic partnership between the United States and Asean contributes to our shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific,” he said.
Image credits: DFA