Don't talk too much on Spratly issue, Phl government urged

MANILA, Philippines - We talk too much.

Former Philippine ambassador to the United Nations Lauro Baja believes the government should exercise restraint in making pronouncements on the West Philippine Sea dispute and instead exercise preventive diplomacy while pursuing practical steps.

“We open ourselves to further confusion and erode our credibility with our neighbors. We should be sparing in our reactions to events,” he said.

Baja was foreign affairs undersecretary for policy and a member of the Philippine delegation to the Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea. He also drafted the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.

He said the present challenges to the country’s claim to the West Philippine Sea include establishing its archipelagic house, regaining leadership in the UN, and following up on the previous Philippine initiative.

He said the country should not get involved in the rivalry between China and the United States for influence in the region.

“The challenges for the Philippines is not to get sucked into their rivalry and instead craft a constructive and strategic role that it could play,” Baja said.

“To do so, the Philippines should not think or react out of fear when dealing with China on one hand and avoid statements which give rise to perception of subservience to the US,” he added.

He said the negotiations and dialogue should be aimed at managing tensions in the West Philippine Sea, but at the same time, concrete steps should be undertaken.

“What’s ours is ours, what is disputed can be shared,” President Aquino was recently reported to have said about the country’s claim to the disputed territory. 

“That’s a mouthful. I’m glad the President said that. I hope they gave him all the justification because it’s a major policy statement. I hope the DFA substantiated it,” former senator Leticia Shahani said during a forum on the Spratlys and national security sponsored by the Philippine Ambassadors Foundation Inc.

Shahani was foreign affairs undersecretary for policy and sponsor of the baseline law.

“I’m nervous when we join conference, we don’t have a policy on Spratlys.”

She added that the Philippine Ambassador or the Deputy at the Philippine Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York should be an expert in maritime law to be able to defend the Philippine claim against China, a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council.

“The UN is the most political body in the world and China is a permanent member. We must go there armed to win,” she said.

She noted that there is no Filipino sitting in the UN Secretariat on the Law of the Sea, even at the directors level.

“The DFA doesn’t pay any attention to the Secretariat of UN. It’s about time the DFA pay attention to the administrative structure,” she said.