Common interest

The announcement last Monday that the Philippines and Indonesia have come to an agreement over their overlapping exclusive economic zones in Mindanao and the Celebes Sea—after 20 years of negotiations—is an opportune development. Foreign Undersecretary for Policy Evan P. Garcia, head of the Philippine delegation, was quoted as saying that the “Agreement between the Republic of the Philippines and the Republic of Indonesia Concerning the Delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone Boundary” would “promote more cooperation in the EEZ in order to advance our common interest of managing and preserving the resources in the EEZ for the benefit of our peoples.”

The goodwill and patience that attended the hashing out of the issues between the two countries over two decades augur well for the kind of enhanced bilateral relationships that the Association of Southeast Nations should be fostering among its member-nations, as the regional bloc aims for the next step of greater economic and geopolitical integration. More tellingly, the Philippines and Indonesia’s example of amity and cordiality in settling the maritime disputes between them carries the unintended but welcome effect of belying China’s absurd and oft-repeated claim that in its row with the Philippines over contested islands in the South China Sea, the Philippines has been the bully.

The EEZ agreement is proof that the Philippines can and will choose the option of negotiation and compromise, peace and friendship to settle any disagreement with a neighboring country—the talks stretching over 20 years, if necessary—if its rights as a sovereign country and coequal partner at the negotiating table are recognized and respected from the start. The Philippines, however, cannot be expected to submit to bilateral talks when the premise for such is skewed toward the opposite side from the very beginning—when China insists a priori that it has historical sovereignty over the entire South China Sea, for instance, and that all that the other claimant-nations (the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan) can do is to assent meekly to such a sweeping claim and beg for scraps from their giant neighbor. That kind of behavior is what defines a bully.

China’s condescending response to the Philippines’ protest over its recent reclamation of land in the disputed Johnson South Reef is in line with this behavior. “Whatever construction China carries out on the reef is a matter entirely within the scope of China’s sovereignty,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying. “I don’t know what particular intentions the Philippines has in caring so much about this.”

Hua’s statement is the height of disingenuousness. The issue is precisely that the ownership of the reef and others like it in the South China Sea remains in dispute. No country in the world has lent credence to China’s unilateral appropriation of the area, and the United Nations has taken legal cognizance of the Philippines’ claim by hearing the case it has filed with the world body—a case in which China has arrogantly refused to take part.

And now China has alarmingly upped the ante by positioning an oil rig in the contested Paracel Islands, angering Vietnam this time. The oil rig reportedly came with a virtual armada—a declaration of hostile intent that Vietnam finds unacceptable. It has sent off its own maritime forces to engage the Chinese in a standoff, and now with violent anti-Chinese rioting in Vietnam that has seen two Chinese nationals killed and more than 100 injured, the level of tension between the two countries is at its highest in years.

The Philippines’ common cause with Vietnam, and its good relations with Indonesia, should lead to a strong statement from Asean denouncing China’s abrasive behavior in the region and calling for all parties to adhere to the Code of Conduct that the Asean countries—and China itself—signed in 2002. That agreement binds the signatory countries to the promise that they would not occupy uninhabited reefs and islands in the area and build structures that would lead to greater friction.

China has blatantly and repeatedly violated that agreement. It’s time Asean took a firm stand against such breaches. Its ability to uphold the common interest and to protect the peace and stability in the region is at stake.