Palace bucks bilateral approach in resolving sea row

MANILA, Philippines - A bilateral solution with China over the West Philippine Sea dispute is still out of the question despite increased encroachments of Chinese ships in Philippine waters, Malacañang maintained yesterday.

“I think the Philippine government will not cease in filing and availing itself of the legal and diplomatic means in resolving this dispute,” presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda told reporters.

He said the Philippine government filed a diplomatic protest against China’s “constant” presence in the Recto (Reed) Bank after the military spotted two new Chinese vessels in the area.

President Aquino himself complained about the two ships in an earlier interview with TV5.

“We have filed a diplomatic protest. It’s not a question of whether they will heed the diplomatic protest. What is important is that the Philippine government continues to assert its right against its neighbors,” Lacierda said.

“And we will continue to do so, and for that particular reason, we have availed ourselves of the diplomatic and arbitration channels in resolving this dispute with China,” he said.

Lacierda said the Philippines is still interested in pushing for the other facets of Philippines-China relations, but not with respect to claims on the West Philippine Sea.

“We cannot have a bilateral discussion with them because it’s a dispute that involves more than two parties,” Lacierda said.

He said the Philippines was acting on the Chinese incursions but would not tell the media what their plans were.

“But suffice it to say that we are cognizant of the situation in the West Philippine Sea and we will take measures to ensure the safety of our Filipino brethren,” Lacierda said.

Recto Bank is part of Philippine territory and not within the disputed portions of the South China Sea, which the government calls West Philippine Sea.

Recto Bank is 144 kilometers away from Palawan, well within the Philippines’ 370-kilometer exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

China’s sweeping claim, anchored on its controversial nine-dash line, covers 90 percent of the 3.5-million square kilometer West Philippine Sea.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said China’s recent activity in Recto Bank was a “unilateral move,” altering the status quo in the region. It violates the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2002 Declaration on the Code of Conduct (DCC) signed by China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

In his Aug. 13 interview with TV5, Aquino said two Chinese survey vessels were sighted in the Recto Bank, believed to hold substantial oil and gas deposits.

He quoted Armed Forces of the Philippines reports as saying the vessels seemed to be surveying and charting the area.

Earlier, Manila and Beijing were caught in a long-drawn out dispute after Chinese vessels occupied Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal and Beijing insisted on the pullout of the retired Navy ship BRP Sierra Madre on Ayungin Shoal.

This is China’s first aggressive action in the region after it rejected the Philippine-proposed Triple Action Plan (TAP), which contained the immediate, intermediate and final approach.