FOREIGN Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo yesterday said he had a “frank and candid” conversation with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi Wednesday amid tension between the two countries arising from a territorial dispute in the South China Sea.
This as China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Wang warned Manalo that if Manila “miscalculates the maritime situation, is bent on having its way, or colludes” with “ill-intentioned” external forces, Beijing would defend its rights and respond resolutely.
Manalo, in a statement, said he and Wang “had a frank and candid exchange and ended our call with a clearer understanding of our respective positions on a number of issues.”
“We both noted the importance of dialogue in addressing these issues,” he added.
Frank and candid conversation in the diplomatic world means both sides have expressed their position and views on a certain issue, but that they did not agree on these views and neither side would budge in their position.
The Chinese ministry said Wang also told Manalo that Beijing and Manila should discuss the maritime dispute as neighbors.
Wang also put the blame on Manila for the “difficulties” in bilateral ties due to its policy stance and its decision to renege on its commitments. The ministry quoted Wang as saying it would be better for Manila to “return to the right path” as soon as possible.
Wang’s remarks could intensify a dispute that has simmered for years, with the Philippines pushing back at what it sees as a Chinese campaign to prevent it from accessing fossil fuel and fisheries resources in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
An escalation towards an armed confrontation, while unlikely, would be a significant raising of the stakes, with the United States bound by a 1951 treaty to defend the Philippines should it come under attack, including in the South China Sea.
Early this week, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Beijing remains committed to upholding peace and stability in the South China Sea through dialogue and consultation with the Philippines and other ASEAN countries.
The Philippines recently filed a diplomatic protest and summoned Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian for explanation after Chinese coast guard and maritime militia vessels blocked and water cannoned Philippine ships on resupply missions to Ayungin Shoal and Scarborough Shoal.
Earlier this week, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said there is a need for Manila to change its strategy in countering Chinese aggressive actions in the West Philippine Sea, adding that current diplomatic efforts are making very little progress.
China claims nearly the entire South China Sea where more than $3 trillion of goods passes annually. It rejected a 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the case brought by the Philippines that rejected its sweeping claims in the disputed waterway through its nine-dash line as having no legal or historical basis.
Aside from the Philippines and China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and Taiwan also claim parts of the disputed South China Sea as their own.
The Chinese Embassy in Manila denied it is funding and tapping Filipinos to “destabilize” the Philippines, calling it false and baseless.
Sen. JV Ejercito has said China might have been funding trolls to propagate a pro-China stance amid the tension in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) in the South China Sea between the two countries.
“China has always adhered to the principles of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries. The allegation that China is tapping and funding Filipinos to destabilize the Philippines is categorically false and baseless,” the embassy said, as it questioned the source of the information and the motivation behind the accusation.
The embassy said China has always advocated and remains committed to “properly managing maritime differences through dialogues and consultations.”
“China will keep the door of dialogue and contact open. We urge those said individuals to do more in line with the interests of the Filipino people and China-Philippines friendship, instead of making irresponsible anti-China accusations,” it added.
It also expressed hope the Philippines will “listen to the voice of reason, act upon the call of the two peoples, and work with China to earnestly honor the consensus of the two heads-of-state on properly handling disputes through dialogue and consultations.”
Ejercito yesterday said it is “wrong” for China to assert that it is “properly managing maritime differences” through dialogues and consultations when it is the one who has been aggressive against the country’s vessels in the WPS.
He said it is China which has stepped up aggression against Philippine vessels.
Ejercito said all these could have prevented if o China honored the decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration.
He said “peace and sound relationship between China and the Philippines” can be achieved “if both countries acknowledge each other’s maritime rights.”
“In this case, it is essential to recognize that the West Philippine Sea belongs to us — the
“I urge China to halt President Xi Jinping’s expansionism policies to prevent conflicts… The bottom line is to respect Philippine sovereignty and leave out territorial waters alone,” he added.
‘SECURE RECTO BANK’
Retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said the Philippines should not get intimidated or allow itself to be intimidated by China and must act now to secure Recto (Reed) Bank.
“We should be sending our drill and survey ship to Reed Bank accompanied by the Philippine Navy. At the same time, we should be conducting more joint patrols with the United States,’ Carpio told CNN Philippines.
He said the country should take heed from the same strategy employed by Indonesia and Malaysia to begin oil exploration and drilling in its exclusive economic zone despite threats from China.
“We don’t need China to recognize our exclusive economic zone. As long as we get our natural resources in the EEZ, then we are winning,” Carpio said.
Last August, Carpio renewed his call for the government to begin oil exploration in Recto Bank, saying this is needed to enable the country to stave off possible devastating effects to the economy due to the rising energy costs and the drying up of gas in the Malampaya gas field in Palawan, which supplies around 40 percent of the energy requirements of mainland Luzon.
“The urgent issue now is to get the gas from Recto Bank because we’re running out of gas in Malampaya and energy cost is going up fast. We have to send our drilling ships to Reed Bank but to do that we need to protect our exploration and survey ships,” he said then.
Recto Bank, which is located inside Manila’s 200-mile exclusive economic zone is believed to contain around 165 million barrels of oil and 3.4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
Last year, the departing Duterte administration announced the termination of the oil and gas exploration talks with Beijing, more than three years after the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation on Oil and Gas Development between the two countries. Efforts to explore for oil and gas in Recto Bank have been stymied by Chinese opposition.
In March 2022, Chinese coast guard vessels shadowed ships on a unilateral oil exploration in the area with scientists from the University of the Philippines on board. — With Raymond Africa and Reuters
