As a dispute over Chinese fishing boats in waters claimed by the Philippines heats up, the US is rushing to capitalize on the situation, painting China as a threat and sending naval forces to the region. Amid the rancor, Manila and Beijing are attempting to springboard finalization of the long-discussed code of conduct for the South China Sea.
Since early March, some 220 Chinese fishing boats have been tied together in a formation off the coast of Whitsun Reef, a V-shaped island in the Spratly Islands that is claimed by the Philippines as well as China and Vietnam. China has claimed the boats are sheltering from bad weather. Manila has asked them to leave, and begun lodging daily protests with Beijing over their continued presence.
Chinese vessels, believed to be manned by Chinese maritime militia personnel, are seen at Whitsun Reef, South China Sea on March 27, 2021. Picture taken March 27, 2021
On Wednesday, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters “An armed attack against the Philippines’ armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft in the Pacific, including in the South China Sea, will trigger our obligations under the US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty,” claiming the vessels are part of China’s maritime militia, despite Beijing’s continued insistence they are regular fishing boats.
Reviving Code of Conduct Talks
However, the situation is not nearly so dire: Chinese diplomats have met not only with their Philippine counterparts several times in recent days, but with other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as well. China is not a member of ASEAN, but retains a working partnership with the 10-nation bloc. At these talks, the prevailing concern by both sides has been reviving and finalizing talks on the Code of Conduct (CoC) in the South China Sea, which would standardize maritime interactions in the waterway, including the question of where each nation’s fishing fleets could go, but which were paused due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020.
Map showing countries’ claims in the South China Sea.
Since the ruling, China has shifted its claims toward a “four-sha” (four sands) position, based on claims to four island chains – the Paracel Islands (Xisha), Spratly Islands (Nansha), Pratas Islands (Dongsha) and the Macclesfield Bank (Zhongsha) – and their surrounding areas of raised seafloor, together amounting to about 80% of the South China Sea.
“As the year 2022 marks the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), all parties will take it as an opportunity to fully and effectively implement the DOC and accelerate consultations on the ‘Code of Conduct in the South China Sea,’” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijiang told reporters about the Wang-Locsin meeting.
According to a Chinese Foreign Ministry report, Locsin spoke of their “unbreakable friendship” that “should become the stabilizing factor of the world’s geopolitical changes.” He noted Manila is committed to furthering their relationship and thanked Beijing for its extensive aid in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.
CoC Seen as Safeguarding Philippine Sovereignty
Back in Manila, the rhetoric is a bit tougher, but even politicians advocating a counterbalance to China have placed advancing the CoC at the top of their concerns.
“We should put our differences aside and work towards the common goal of opposing unfounded and over-ambitious Chinese territorial claims in the region,” she said, according to the Philippine Star, adding that “If ASEAN does not adopt a common stand on the South China Sea [code of conduct], we cannot safeguard our shared interests.” The outlet quoted several other lawmakers with similar views.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc mentioned at the ASEAN summit in November that all member states “look forward to the early conclusion of the code of conduct, which is effective, substantive, and consistent with international law, particularly the” 1982 United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte also committed to fast-tracking the CoC at the summit.
ASEAN Summit, November 2019
US Inserts Itself into Regional Debate
However, while Washington postures as upholding international law and regularly cites UNCLOS in its deliberate flouting of Chinese maritime claims, it has remained opposed to the CoC being concluded directly between Beijing and the ASEAN states.
Then in May 2020, the Council on Foreign Relations, an influential Washington, DC-based policy think tank, proposed that Washington foul the China-ASEAN negotiations, draw up a separate code of conduct with ASEAN nations amenable to its interests, and impose it on China.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
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