Germany calls for peaceful settlement of sea row

MANILA, Philippines - Germany called yesterday for respect for the rule of law and a peaceful settlement of maritime disputes in East and Southeast Asia.

German Ambassador Thomas Ossowski said his government is closely monitoring developments in the East and South China Seas, where China is locked in disputes with its neighbors including the Philippines.

“We encourage everyone to work on a peaceful settlement and respect the prominence of the rule of law,” Ossowski told The STAR yesterday.  “Germany as a trading nation is very much interested in maintaining the security of sea routes.”

He also called for the continuation of talks for a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China.

Ossowski’s statement was issued just days after the defense ministers of Australia and Britain supported US moves that provide a counterweight to China’s aggressive efforts to stake its claim over nearly the entire South China Sea.

The European Union had earlier issued a statement calling for a peaceful settlement of maritime disputes as China began setting up an oil rig in waters claimed by neighboring Vietnam.

Ossowski expressed confidence that no one wants armed conflict in a region that has prospered in a peaceful environment.

“No one can be interested in military escalation of conflict in the region,” Ossowski told The STAR. “I think everyone is interested in peaceful settlement and on this basis we have to work.”

Germany is a signatory, like the Philippines and China, to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), whose international tribunal is based in Hamburg, Germany.

The Philippines has invoked UNCLOS in the arbitration case it filed with the United Nations to define its maritime entitlements.

Asked if Germany supported the arbitration case, Ossowski said his government supported any peaceful settlement that respects the rule of law in settling disputes.

Yesterday, Malacañang welcomed the statements of Australia, the US and Japan which expressed support for the Philippines’ arbitration case.

The three countries expressed support during the 13th Asia Security Summit held over the weekend in Singapore.

They expressed similar views that backed Philippines’ basic position on the importance of peaceful settlement of disputes.

“It is important that freedom of navigation, as well as freedom of aviation be upheld as emphasized in the ASEAN-Japan summit last December 2013,” Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said.

“Moreover, during the last ASEAN summit in Myanmar last month, the heads of states and governments affirmed the importance of fleshing out a Code of Conduct on the South China Sea,” he said.

The recent statements on the issue came following increased tensions in the South China Sea over the placement of a Chinese oil rig in contested waters surrounding the Paracel Islands off Vietnam.

The tensions reportedly led the Chinese coast guard to ram Vietnamese boats, while violent anti-China demonstrations in Vietnam left six people dead.

Relations between Tokyo and Beijing have also soured in recent months following a dispute in the East China Sea over islands known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.

The Philippines, on the other hand, is also embroiled in a bitter dispute with China in the West Philippine Sea.

The Philippine government filed an arbitration case before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, sounding out the country’s advocacy in resorting to peaceful resolution of any dispute.

Malacañang also welcomed the statements from Australia and the United Kingdom, aside from the United States and Japan, affirming the importance of respecting the rule of law as key to regional stability.

UK Secretary of Defense Philip Hammond said the US was the only meaningful counterweight to China’s growing global influence, but given the “blunt reality” of America’s challenging fiscal position, other countries would have to “step up to the plate” and contribute.

“Only the US can respond to the challenge that is represented by China’s growing power,” Hammond said in an interview with CNBC at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore over the weekend. “The US can lead, and the US must lead, but it can’t do everything on its own.”

Coloma said the arbitration case based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) showed the international community the reason and justification for the country’s position.

“By submitting that matter to the attention of the arbitral tribunal that is tasked with implementing the UNCLOS, we want to engage the attention and participation of other countries that are signatories to that treaty. That is our way of calling the attention of the world,” Coloma said.

As of Jan. 10, 166 states have ratified, acceded to, or succeeded to UNCLOS, based on the information at the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s website.

Coloma said the Philippines would also continue to push for Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ centrality, ASEAN being its immediate community.

He said countries getting disturbed by China’s actions were part of a larger community and President Aquino had been emphatic on the need to seek peace and stability in the region vis-à-vis economic growth.

“And he (Aquino) said almost half of the total quantity of world trade or commerce passes through the South China Sea. That’s why the area cannot be destabilized, not just for the interest of the countries that have specific territorial entitlements or claims, but for the benefit of the entire economy of the region and of the world,” Coloma said.

Hammond reiterated that geopolitical conflicts in Asia must be resolved in accordance with the rule of law and the norms of international behavior, and encouraged regional militaries to work together more closely.

Hammond welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s recent offer to play a bigger part in Asian regional security. He voiced support for Abe’s attempt to modernize Japan’s constitution to allow for the expansion of Japanese self-defense forces.

Australia also backed the US and Japan in accusing China of “destabilizing” actions in the South China Sea, becoming the latest world power to elbow Beijing about respecting the rule of law in resolving territorial disputes.

Australian Defense Minister David Johnston supported comments of his American counterpart Chuck Hagel accusing China of infringing on international law by behaving aggressively toward its rivals for territory in the South China Sea.

Speaking at the 13th Asia Security Summit in Singapore on Saturday, Hagel accused China of a number of alleged infractions, including against the Philippines and Vietnam, the two most vocal critics of Beijing’s territorial claims.

“In recent months, China has undertaken destabilizing, unilateral actions asserting its claims in the South China Sea,” Hagel told the annual Shangri-La Dialogue.

In opening the forum, Abe urged countries to respect the rule of law, in apparent reference to perceived Chinese aggression in the South and East China Seas.

Despite the intensifying exchange of statements, Coloma said â€œwe still would like to envision a situation where there will be continuing stability in the South China Sea, as we have pointed out its strategic importance not just to regional, but to global commerce and trade.”