‘Sea freedoms must be respected’

RANCHO MIRAGE, California – Southeast Asian leaders and US President Barack Obama issued a joint declaration here yesterday, expressing stronger commitment to keeping peace in the South China Sea and protecting freedom of
navigation and overflight.

In their 17-point “Sunnylands Declaration,” the leaders agreed to respect the sovereignty of every nation as well as abide by the rules provided for under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. The declaration, named after the resort where the historic summit was held, emphasized ASEAN and US “shared commitment to maintain peace, security and stability in the region.”

While there was no mention of China, the declaration was apparently addressing the Asian power, which has been aggressively staking its claims in the South China Sea, including building artificial islands.

Beijing has installed facilities on their man-made islands, apparently for military purposes.

The leaders also emphasized the need for “non-militarization and self-restraint in the conduct of activities” in disputed waters.

For his part, President Aquino called on the global community “to demonstrate respect for the rule of law by abiding by the decision of the UN arbitral tribunal.”

He issued the statement during their second retreat here, with the theme: “Protecting Peace, Prosperity, and Security in the Asia-Pacific,” telling the other leaders that they “must collectively address the challenges we face together.”

“It is essential that ASEAN shall resolve in promoting a rules-based regime for the resolution of disputes and management of tensions in the region,” he said.

“In this regard, confronted with the common challenges in the South China Sea, it is crucial that ASEAN collectively and in a unified voice urge all countries to share with us full respect for the rule of law,” he pointed out.

Respect for the rule of law, he said, should mean abiding by whatever is decided by the international arbitral tribunal on Manila’s case against Beijing.

“In this manner, we will avoid chaos in our relations and ensure greater stability, predictability and security,” Aquino stressed.

In a speech in Los Angeles hours after the US-ASEAN summit ended, Aquino told the crowd at the Los Angeles World Affairs Council that Manila is not provoking Beijing but merely defending itself.

“Let me make it clear: we have zero ambitions in terms of arming ourselves with our own weapons of mass destruction; we have no plans of trying to come up with some sort of deterrents against the military might of that superpower,” he said.

“In other words, in the classic argument of guns versus butter, we would rather spend our limited resources on the butter side of that equation,” he added.

In the joint declaration, Obama and the Asian leaders “reaffirmed the key principles that will guide our cooperation going forward,” including “mutual respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity, equality and political independence of all nations.”

The Sunnylands Declaration also emphasized the “importance of shared prosperity, sustainable, inclusive economic growth and development,” as well as the pursuit of policies “that lead to dynamic, open, and competitive economies.”

Also highlighted in the declaration is the necessity of ensuring “opportunities for all of our peoples, through strengthening democracy, enhancing good governance and adherence to the rule of law.” Also to be safeguarded and promoted, according to the joint declaration, are human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as the importance of “tolerance and moderation, and protecting the environment.”

Furthermore, the leaders voiced their “strong resolve to lead on global issues such as terrorism and violent extremism, trafficking in persons, drug trafficking, and illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, as well as illicit trafficking of wildlife and timber.”

Economic measures

Obama, meanwhile, announced a package of measures designed to boost Southeast Asian economies, betting that the fast-growing region can be an ever more important trade partner.

The plan will establish three economic offices – in Jakarta, Bangkok and Singapore – “to better coordinate our economic engagement and connect more of our entrepreneurs, investors and businesses with each other.”

The White House sees the 10-nation ASEAN as an emerging regional counterweight to China’s regional dominance.

Collectively, the countries are the fourth-largest trading partner for the US.

According to White House figures, “two-way trade in goods and services has tripled since the 1990s, topping 254 billion in 2014,” supporting around half a million US jobs.

“We have an increasingly deep and broad economic relationship with ASEAN,” said US ambassador to ASEAN Nina Hachigian.

ASEAN includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

While Southeast Asian economies are youthful and fast-growing, many sectors remain under the control of government or special interests.

But countries like Indonesia are beginning to open up. Its president Joko Widodo recently announced steps to open the economy to foreign investment that were welcomed in Washington.

The new “US-ASEAN Connect” package will include technical advice on how countries like Indonesia and the Philippines can prepare to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a vast Pacific-wide trade deal that is in the process of being ratified.

“We’ve launched a new effort to help all ASEAN countries understand the key elements of TPP as well as the reforms that could eventually lead to them joining,” Obama said.

Other measures will focus on improving trade ties in the communications and infrastructure sectors among others, streamlining current government programs.

It will also address the power sector, an area where China has been especially active, building dams along the upper Mekong.

In Manila, a University of the Philippines professor cited the need for the government to work with neighboring countries in finding practical ways to mitigate environmental damage in disputed areas in the South China Sea and the West Philippine Sea.

“Cooperation is not that easy but… it is possible for the Philippines to also strike cooperative efforts with other countries… We can only hope that we will be able to induce this change in time to minimize further damage which might become irreversible,” Jay Batongbacal, director of the UP Institute of Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea (UP IMLOS), said in a statement. - Romina Cabrera