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Ex-DFA chief Del Rosario floats idea of a 'démarche' to China through UN
Ex-DFA chief Del Rosario floats idea of a 'démarche' to China through UN
By Roy Mabasa
Former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario suggested on Tuesday that a démarche or a protest with “purposeful direction” should be conveyed to China if its vessels will continue to linger at Julian Felipe Reef (Whitsun Reef) in the West Philippine Sea.
One possible action to calibrate further actions, according to Del Rosario, is to inform the United Nations through UN Secretary-General Antonio Guttéres.
The former DFA chief made this suggestion a day after the Philippines filed a diplomatic protest against China for its refusal to leave Julian Felipe Reef, an area within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
“(DFA) Secretary (Teodoro) Locsin indicated a demarche to China if the Chinese ‘fishing vessels’ or maritime militia are still to be seen around Julian Felipe Reef. The demarche should convey purposeful direction,” Del Rosario said in a statement.
Following China’s continuous refusal to accept the July 2016 decision of the UN-backed Arbitral Tribunal, Del Rosario said it is perhaps time for the Philippines to explore fully all possible options for other concrete actions with the UN, more so now that some Western countries have expressed their support for the rule of law to prevail in line with the international court’s decision.
Del Rosario, who served as foreign secretary under the administration of former President Benigno Aquino III, was one of the chief architects of the petition filed by the Philippines against China before the Arbitral Tribunal in The Hague.
On July 12, 2016, the international court ruled in favor of the Philippines, invalidating China’s excessive nine-dash line claims in the South China Sea.
In a tweet last Sunday, Locsin said he is “considering a demarche after China claimed the Julian Felipe Reef (Whitsun) in the West Philippine Sea as being part of its own territory.
“Coming and going fishing makes no claim of possession per se; it is only when Chinese embassy claimed the area as Chinese territory—as evidenced by the swarm—that it becomes problematic. Considering a demarche,” the country’s top diplomat added.