Impasses on two fronts

The Aquino administration faces for the first time two simultaneous impasses in foreign policy and domestic economic affairs—the current standoff between a Philippine warship and two Chinese surveillance vessels at a disputed shoal in the West Philippine Sea (also known as South China Sea) and the critical energy shortage in Mindanao.

These stalemates confront the nearly 2-year-old Aquino administration with the biggest test of its competence in handling two major foreign and domestic policy issues. Since last Sunday, the Philippines’ biggest warship, the BRP Gregorio del Pilar, has been locked in a standoff with two Chinese surveillance vessels at Scarborough Shoal, which is claimed by the Philippines as part of its territory in the disputed West Philippine Sea. The standoff has hardened as diplomatic negotiations since last Tuesday have failed to break the deadlock, fueling concerns that the impasse might escalate into violent naval encounters.

As Philippine and Chinese foreign ministry officials engage in quiet but tense diplomatic talks, the Aquino administration, whose popularity has started to slide, undergoes a baptism of fire in crisis management. President Aquino flies to Davao City today to preside over a summit conference to urgently seek immediate measures to halt the rapidly dwindling energy supply in resource-rich Mindanao, which is home to 24 million Filipinos (a quarter of the country’s population). The shortage threatens to disrupt economic activity on the island at a  time when the country is struggling to revive economic growth that has contracted by half during the Aquino administration.

The naval standoff in the West Philippine Sea is the last thing the President needs to distract his attention as he addresses the economy-crippling energy shortage. His administration has come under increasingly biting criticism for neglecting the economy during nearly two years, as he relentlessly pursued a single-minded anticorruption campaign that sought to hold officials of the previous administration accountable for alleged corrupt practices, in an effort to prove that he is incorruptible.

The Chinese government in Beijing is not making it easy for the Philippine government to address its domestic issues, and the incursions of Chinese vessels poaching in waters over which Manila claims sovereignty are ruffling diplomatic relations between the two countries. Beijing is aggressively asserting its territorial claims in the entire South China Sea, parts of which are also claimed  by the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, and Malaysia.

The Chinese incursions have forced the Philippine government to grapple with two vexing issues—one on foreign policy and the other on the Mindanao energy shortage. In war or in diplomacy, conventional wisdom and prudence dictate that nations should avoid fighting wars on two fronts. Obviously, the Chinese are drawing the Philippines into this trap.

The Philippine government claims that the standoff with China began on Sunday when members of the Philippine Navy tried to detain Chinese boats fishing in Philippine waters but were stopped by two Chinese surveillance craft. The Chinese Embassy accused the Philippine warship of harassing the fishermen and called for it to leave Chinese territory.

BBC reported that members of the Philippine Navy boarded the Chinese fishing vessels and found a large amount of illegally caught fish and corals. Two Chinese surveillance ships then apparently arrived in the area on Tuesday, placing themselves between the warship and fishing vessels and preventing the Navy from making arrests.

The Chinese Embassy said that the Chinese vessels had taken shelter from a storm in a lagoon, and that Philippine troops went into the lagoon and harassed the fishermen. The embassy said the two Chinese surveillance ships were in the area “fulfilling the duties of safeguarding Chinese maritime rights and interests.”

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario contacted China’s ambassador to the Philippines, Ma Keqing, to emphasize that the Scarborough Shoal area was “an integral part of the Philippines.” Del Rosario said the Philippines was seeking a “diplomatic solution” to the impasse.

The standoff came as the Philippines prepared for a joint naval exercise with the United States from April 16 to 27, an exercise seen as a show of force in response to the aggressive Chinese naval presence in the South China Sea.

President Aquino has instructed Del Rosario to make the Philippine position clear to China. “What is important here is we take care of our sovereignty. We cannot give Scarborough Shoal away and we cannot depend on others but ourselves.” Still, he said, the rules of engagement that he emphasized to the military were “to ensure no violence will happen there.”

He insisted that Scarborough Shoal “is our sovereign territory” and that Philippine officials had merely asked Beijing why it had intruded into Philippine territory. “But their answer to our charge d’affaires … and the worst part is, they turned the tables on us. China is claiming Scarborough Shoal as its indisputable territory, and even protested the entry of our ship there.”