Human rights lawyer Jose Manuel 'Chel' Diokno has pushed for the conduct of “multilateral talks” to settle the West Philippine Sea row among claimant-countries.
Diokno, who is running for senator in 2022, said having multilateral negotiations is the better way to resolve the WPS dispute as opposed to the holding of bilateral talks between China and the Philippines.
“Ako panindigan ko talaga iyan. Atin ang West Philippine Sea at dapat ipaglaban natin iyong ating soberanya, lalong lalo na diyan sa lugar na iyan (I will really stand up for that. The West Philippine Sea is ours and we must fight for our sovereignty, especially in that area),” Diokno said in an online interview Monday night, November 8.
“Ang maayos na solusyon diyan ay maidadaan natin sa (The proper solution for that is through) multilateral relations or multilateral negotiations. Hindi tayo patas kung tayo lang at China ang mag-uusap (It’s not fair if only China and us will talk),” he added.
Officials of the Philippines and China met virtually for the sixth engagement of the Bilateral Consultation Mechanism (BCM) on the South China Sea last May.
The BCM was established by President Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping during their meeting in 2016.
READ: Duterte insists ‘might makes it right’ over West PH Sea
Diokno said the Philippines, China and other neighboring countries claiming ownership should sit down and lay down the ground rules in the disputed territory.
“Hindi lang naman China at Pilipinas ang may interes diyan. Maiging pag-usapan na natin lahat at ayusin na natin kung paano ang takbo diyan (It is not only China and Philippines that have interest there. We better discuss and fix how we would go through it),” he said.
If China continues to assert its control over the WPS, Diokno said, the Philippines should rally the support of neighboring countries to ensure that there would be freedom of movement in the area.
“Iyan ang pinakamagandang solusyon na nakikita ko dahil matigas nga ang ulo ng China. Walang patutunguhan ang anumang negosasyon kung hindi sila uurong sa kanilang matigas na posisyon (That’s the best solution I’m seeing because China is stubborn. Any negotiation will not prosper if they will not back down from their hard stance),” said Diokno.