MANILA, Philippines — An international law expert believes that the Philippines' arbitration case against China is a legacy of President Benigno Aquino III, but much still needs to be done in his remaining two years including a major diplomatic move in the United Nations (UN).
Lawyer Harry Roque Jr., director of the University of the Philippines (UP) Law Center Institute of International Legal Studies, said the country under Aquino's leadership will be known for standing up for its rights and for seeking legal remedies to protect its interest in the disputed South China Sea.
"I think his best legacy would be resorting to the rule of law and trying to achieve settlement on the South China Sea." Roque said in an interview.
"To his credit, this is something that no other country has done, particularly to use legal remedies against a regional power like China. But at the same time, he has got to win," the UP law professor added.
Aquino has said that to de-escalate tensions in the disputed waters, the Philippines is pursuing comprehensive means on three levels - immediate, intermediate, and final approaches.
On the immediate level, Aquino said the Philippines is seeking a moratorium on construction efforts and other activities that may increase tensions in the contested territories. On the intermediate level, the country is calling for the completion of a binding Code of Conduct.
On the final approach, the Philippines has filed an arbitration case that would clarify the maritime entitlements of country-claimants in the South China Sea.
But Roque believes that the proposed moratorium will not succeed while the arbitration case may not be enough to solve the territorial dispute.
That is why in the upcoming State of the Nation Address (SONA), Roque wants the President to lay out other options that the country may also pursue.
"I want to hear what his fallback position is. I don't want us to put all our eggs in one bag. I want to hear that we have alternative remedies in case we don't prevail in the arbitration and I want to know what these are," Roque said.
He said Aquino must also reassure that regardless of what happens to the arbitration, his administration will still exhaust other remedies to protect the Philippines' national patrimony and territory.
"And at the same time, I already want to know, how he intends to finish with finality the entirety of the Spratly Islands dispute," Roque added.
UN General Assembly
According to Roque, what Aquino must do now is to seek the support of one of the six principal organs of the UN, the General Assembly.
"We should be focusing on building a consensus in the UN for a General Assembly resolution against China's conquest of the South China Sea," Roque said.
Under the UN Charter, the Security Council is the principal organ responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security, but Roque said the General Assembly may also deal with threats to peace pursuant to the Uniting for Peace Resolution adopted in 1950.
The resolution states that the General Assembly may take actions when there are threats to peace or acts of aggression if the Security Council fails to do so due to the negative vote of a permanent member.
Since China is a permanent member of the Security Council, Roque believes the UN body will not act if the tensions in the South China Sea develop into a full armed conflict.
"[Aquino] should now be preparing for a major diplomatic initiative in the UN because China is a permanent member of the Security Council. We cannot expect the Security Council to act in case of conflict in the South China Sea because China has a veto power," Roque said.
"The only mechanism right now is the General Assembly that's why we should be focusing on sending an effective diplomat there that can muster support of the majority members of the United Nations for a resolution," Roque also said.
At the same time, Aquino should also start getting the support of other nations, but not those which are already known allies of the Philippines such as Japan, Roque suggested.
"He should not be converting the converted," the lawyer said. "He should be making a major initiative among third world countries now to unite, to support each other against regional bullies like China. He should be going to Latin America, Africa and other parts of Asia."
Roque also wants the President to consider China's demand of bilateral negotiations to solve the territorial row.
"If I were him (Aquino), I will still do it behind closed doors," Roque said. "We should be exhausting all means for peaceful resolution of this dispute."
"We are duty-bound, as a member of the UN Charter, to resort to all these peaceful means," he said.
Prioritize national defense, get public support
Roque said the Aquino administration should also prioritize national defense by investing in equipment, warships and airplanes using government resources such as the Malampaya fund.
"I want us to come up with a viable defense policy knowing that we have sufficient resources already to defend what we claim in the South China Sea. And the fruits of Malampaya are more than sufficient for this," Roque said.
Instead of relying on the United States, Roque said Aquino should rally the Filipinos as the Philippines presses its sovereignty over the disputed territories.
"The Philippine government is also sending mixed signals. It is standing up to China but running to America. What [Aquino] should be doing now is galvanizing support of the Philippines in favor of the Philippines," Roque said.
"Let's get public support to defend our islands. Let's get rid of corruption so we can use our resources for the protection of the Republic. That's what [Aquino] should be doing for the Filipino people and not crying and running to Uncle Sam."