Noy calls for respect; Obama urges restraint in sea row

PHNOM PENH – President Aquino yesterday called on the country’s East Asian neighbors including China to respect established boundaries and not encroach on other’s territories.

Aquino’s call came almost simultaneously with US President Barack Obama’s appeal to Asian leaders that they rein in tensions in the South China Sea and other disputed territory, alrhough he stopped short of firmly backing the Philippines as well as Japan and Vietnam in their disputes with China.

The two leaders spoke during the 7th East Asia Summit in this Cambodian capital, where the 21st Association of Southeast Asian Nations
summit and other related summits were held.

Aquino said nations should “respect the exclusive economic zone and continental shelves of all coastal states, irrespective of their size or naval power,” in “conformity and in accordance with the established rules of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.”

He said “this is also in compliance with the provisions of the (ASEAN-China) Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC).”

“All parties should ‘exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities that would complicate or escalate disputes and affect peace and stability, including, among others, refraining from action of inhabiting on the presently uninhabited islands, reefs, shoals, cays and other features and to handle their differences in a constructive manner,” Aquino said quoting from the 10-year old DOC.

“At no time in the contemporary history of the South China Sea has clarification and delimitation of maritime areas become more urgent and imperative than they are now,” Aquino stressed.

He also emphasized that all parties to the proposed Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea, must be fully committed to its full implementation.

“As we in ASEAN embark on negotiating a Code of Conduct, we must make sure that its provisions are not only stronger, binding, and credible, but that all parties to the COC must be fully committed to its implementation,” he said.

Obama’s call

Obama’s call, meanwhile, came at a time when China-US have become more fraught across a range of issues, including trade, commercial espionage and the territorial disputes between Beijing and Washington's Asian allies.

“President Obama's message is there needs to be a reduction of the tensions,” Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said after the East Asia Summit. Also present at the summit were leaders from China, Japan, ASEAN, India, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

“There is no reason to risk any potential escalation, particularly when you have two of the world's largest economies - China and Japan - associated with some of those disputes.”

Obama's attention was divided as he tried to stay on top of the unfolding crisis in Gaza. He dispatched Secretary of State Hillary Clinton from the summit to the Middle East for a round of troubleshooting talks in Israel, the West Bank and Egypt.

In his first meeting with a Chinese leader since his re-election, Obama said Washington and its chief economic rival must work together to “establish clear rules of the road” for trade and investment.

“It is very important that as two of the largest economies in the world that we work to establish clear rules of the road internationally for trade and investment,” Obama told Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.

In Asia, those trade tensions overlap with friction over Chinese sovereignty claims on disputed islands.

“I'm committed to working with China and I'm committed to working with Asia,” Obama said.

Wen highlighted “the differences and disagreements between us” but said these could be resolved through trade and investment.With Aurea Calica, Pia Lee-Brago