Talks to settle dispute with China have ‘zero chance’ — congressman

By Beatriz Marie D. Cruz, Reporter

THERE is “zero chance” that diplomatic negotiations with China will lead to a peaceful settlement of its maritime dispute with the Philippines, if its vessels continue harassing Filipinos in South China Sea territories within the archipelago’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), a Philippine congressman asserted on Tuesday.

“Any diplomatic negotiation has zero chance of reaching a peaceful settlement of the territorial dispute for so long as China keeps its gaslighting ways and insists on its legit claims over maritime zones that clearly belongs to the Philippines,” Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund F. Villafuerte said in a statement.

Mr. Villafuerte said that Philippine should instead bolster its patrols in its territories in the South China Sea, amid its push to modernize its armed forces.

“The best approach for Manila at this point to better protect our seas is to double down on joint, and possibly multilateral, patrols with the United States and other close country-allies in our exclusive economic zone (EEZ),” Mr. Villafuerte said.

Meanwhile, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. is eyeing a “paradigm shift” in the government’s plan to deal with China amid its vessels’ incursions and swarming of South China Sea features closest to the Philippines, the Presidential Communications Office said.

Citing how Beijing has ignored traditional diplomatic means set forth by the Philippines, Mr. Marcos said the he is now looking to coordinate with international partners and come up with a joint position on what must be done to safeguard the South China Sea from conflicts.

“We have to do something that we have not done before, We have to come up with a new concept, a new principle, a new idea so that we move, as I say, we move the needle the other way,” the President told reporters on Saturday in a briefing on the sidelines of the 50th anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-Japan Relations in Tokyo.

On Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said it was the Philippines that is heightening tensions with China in the disputed waterway, adding Manila has not fulfilled its supposed commitment to removing a World War II-era warship intentionally grounded on Second Thomas Shoal 24 years ago.

“The Philippines, bolstered by external support, has brushed aside China’s goodwill and restraint and repeatedly challenged China’s principles and red line,” Mr. Wenbin said.

Mr. Marcos has said his administration would not ask the Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines to be replaced or be recalled since it would not change anything as a new envoy would just echo China’s stance.

The Philippines has filed 130 diplomatic protests against China under his administration, with 63 of them being filed only this year, according to the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

Senator Ana Theresia N. Hontiveros-Baraquel earlier urged the government to go beyond filing diplomatic protests against Chinese incursions in the South China Sea.

She sought “actionable and on-the-ground” steps to stop China’s reclamation and base-building activities in the South China Sea.

In a statement on Tuesday, Ms. Hontiveros-Baraquel said her office, in partnership with Bridges of Benevolent Initiative Foundation (BBIF) and Vivant Foundation, distributed about 1,500 Noche Buena gift packs to fishermen stationed near the South China Sea in Masinloc, Zambales on Sunday.

The senator also turned over solar panels to the Philippine Coast Guard on Sunday following a civilian-led Christmas convoy to the South China Sea.

China has been blocking Philippine resupply missions to BRP Sierra Madre. Second Thomas Shoal is about 200 kilometers from the Philippine island of Palawan and more than 1,000 kilometers from China’s nearest major landmass, Hainan Island.

Tensions between the Philippines and China have worsened after the Chinese Coast Guard fired water cannons to block Manila’s attempt to deliver food and other supplies to BRP Sierra Madre.

“We have, as I have said, the consensus that we must continue to promote peace, but we have to decide amongst ourselves what part each of us plays and what we can play, what we are willing to play,” said Mr. Marcos.

Hansley A. Juliano, a political science professor at the Ateneo de Manila University, said multilateral talks could help settle tensions.

“If a more multilateral bloc manages to emerge (ASEAN, the emerging NATO allies participating in Asian waters) in order to counterbalance Chinese aggression, I believe genuine multilateral engagement can happen,” he said in a Facebook Messenger chat.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said that the 2024 national budget includes P800 million for the construction of a port for fishermen at the town of Lawak, Palawan, near the Second Thomas Shoal.

He added that P1.5 billion is earmarked for the development and expansion of the Pag-asa Island

“We in Congress are one…in protecting the West Philippine Sea and in calling out China for its aggressive activities there, and its harassment of our Coast Guard, soldiers, fishermen, and civilian vessels,” Mr. Romualdez said in a statement.

“We urge China to accept the ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which invalidated Beijing’s expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea,” he added. – with a report from John Victor D. Ordonez