PHILIPPINES: President Benigno Aquino calls on claimants to the disputed South China Sea islands to agree on a code of conduct on a multilateral basis
Record ID:
726304
PHILIPPINES: President Benigno Aquino calls on claimants to the disputed South China Sea islands to agree on a code of conduct on a multilateral basis
- Title: PHILIPPINES: President Benigno Aquino calls on claimants to the disputed South China Sea islands to agree on a code of conduct on a multilateral basis
- Date: 17th September 2011
- Summary: PAGASA ISLAND, SOUTH CHINA SEA (FILE - JULY 20, 2011) (REUTERS FOR FOREIGN POOL) RESIDENTS AND GOVERNMENT AND MILITARY PERSONNEL STANDING IN FRONT OF PHILIPPINE FLAG PHILIPPINE FLAG BEING RAISED SEA NEAR ISLAND VARIOUS OF MILITARY PERSONNEL STANDING#
- Embargoed: 2nd October 2011 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Philippines, Philippines
- Country: Philippines
- Topics: Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA805QD050AFYGP6KXTIBUJ750N
- Story Text: A binding "code of conduct" to resolve long-festering territorial disputes in the South China Sea should involve many countries, not just China and the Philippines, Philippine President Benigno Aquino said on Friday (September 16).
"So there are lot of claimants to the disputed areas, so for it to be binding it has to be a multilateral basis," Aquino told Reuters in an interview at the presidential palace.
China, Taiwan and four Southeast Asian states, including the Philippines, have conflicting claims over features and waters in the South China Sea, believed to be sitting on huge deposits of oil and natural gas.
Manila and Hanoi had protested against aggressive action by China in the South China Sea earlier this year, including accusations of intrusions into Philippine territory nine times and firing of shots at fishermen.
Incidents in the South China Sea could lead to war in Asia, an Australian think tank warned earlier this year.
China's preference is for bilateral negotiations among claimants, with no role for outside parties such as the United States.
During a visit to China in late August and September, Aquino said he and China's leader Hu Jintao had agreed on the need for a binding code of conduct in the South China Sea as they seek to defuse tensions in the disputed waters.
There is currently an informal code of conduct, which was signed in 2002 by China and ASEAN, but it is non-binding, meaning it has no enforcement mechanism.
There have been proposals for joint development of resources in contested areas of the sea, as a way of ensuring peace.
"Joint development, yes, but we still have to resolve the issue of sovereignty. For instance, there'd be royalties due if there's exploitation of resources there. Who actually would be profiting from these royalties. If sovereignty is not resolved, then the question of where these royalties will go to will not be also resolved," Aquino said.
In July, the Philippine foreign minister proposed taking the South China Sea dispute to arbitration in the United Nations, challenging Beijing's claim based on historical records, but Beijing has rejected this.
Aquino also said the Philippines would continue to upgrade its military capabilities, including its capacity in the South China Sea, but said this should not be seen as an offensive move by neighbouring countries.
The Philippine archipelago covers more than 7,000 islands, but only 132 naval ships, mostly outdated.
Last month, Washington transferred to Manila a Hamilton-class cutter, a large warship, under a military assistance programme to improve its capability to patrol disputed waters.
Aquino had also announced plans to purchase boats, aircraft, radar system to stop intrusions into its vast and porous maritime borders in a 40-billion-pesos ($US925 million) modernisation programme.
"We will not add to any tensions within the region, that we will have an aggressive posture, no. It's really just a question of being able to attend to the needs that are being experienced by our country," Aquino said.
The Philippines has been keen to understand how Washington would respond to a situation in the South China Sea under the countries' 1951 Mutual Defenece Treaty.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said Washington was committed to the defence of the Philippines, but did not take sides in the territorial dispute.
Aquino is travelling to the United States next week, and may meet with U.S. President Barack Obama. He said he would like to know how Obama interpreted the treaty.
"I'd really want to hear from him. For instance, his ideas about the mutual defence treaty. How is it operationalised and so on and so forth. It really is different from when you read it in a document and when you have the leader of the partner state to clearly specify their perceptions and their implementations," Aquino said.
On his second year in office, the 51-year-old Aquino is projecting 5 percent economic growth for the country, just slightly below the healthy outlook for Asia's emerging economies.
Mining is seen as a potential growth sector for the Philippines but policy bottlenecks are hampering foreign investors from pursuing ventures.
Environmentalists, rights activists and indigenous groups protested outside a mining conference this week, claiming that projects were favoured towards foreign firms and detrimental to natural resources and farming livelihoods.
Aquino said that as part of a government review, Manila was looking for a better return for both investors and the Philippines.
"We don't really gain as a country that much from all of this extraction. I think we're one of the cheapest in terms of royalties that are being charged and levied. So we will seek to increase that. We want more importantly to have at least some of the processing involved, not to be just an exporter of raw ores."
Aquino said the ultimate goal was to get refining and processing facilities as part of mining projects.
Son of democracy heroes Benigno Sr. and Corazon Aquino, the president has campaigned on eradicating poverty and stamping out corruption.
He said he wants his presidency to be a culmination of his parents' fight for "people power", that will usher in an era of progress and prosperity.
"Now I'm cognizant that I'm resting on their shoulders. And it would really be a sin if after everything has transpired, we were not able to finish this long running struggle," Aquino said. - Copyright Holder: POOL (CAN SELL)
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