The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Tuesday, March 12, denied recent reports that the Philippine government has ignored China’s proposals on resolving the disputes in the West Philippine Sea and said instead that such proposals were denied because they were “contrary to our national interests.”
West Philippine Sea (File Photo from AFP)
In a statement, the DFA clarified that it had submitted counter-proposals, which were products of “extensive internal consultations,” but these were not considered by Beijing.
“The DFA had received last year a number of concept papers from China on various maritime-related proposals. In no way did the Philippine Government ignore China’s proposals,” the statement read, adding that the government “immediately undertaken serious study and consideration” of the proposals.
“The DFA had lengthy and in-depth consultations with the various concerned Philippine Government agencies which have primary competence, or functional mandate over the topics and issues in the said Chinese concept papers. Several rounds of internal discussions and deliberations were also undertaken within the DFA to consider the Chinese proposals,” it added.
However, although a “few” of China’s proposals were “somewhat workable,” the DFA said “many of the remaining Chinese proposals were determined, after careful study, scrutiny and deliberation within the Philippine Government, to be contrary to our national interests.”
It reminded that any agreement with any foreign government should be in accordance to the “mutual interests” of the country, but should also not undermine the Philippine Constitution nor diminish the Philippines’ rights under international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 Arbitral Award won by the Philippines against China.
After the Philippine government submitted its counter-proposals to China, the DFA said these were not considered and instead, “the Chinese side presented its own counter-proposals, which again did not reflect our interests, especially on issues such as the South China Sea.”
The statement also cited the proposal raised by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong in March 2023, which was referred to as a “gentleman’s agreement,” to be contrary to Philippine interests because “China insisted on actions that would be deemed as acquiescence or recognition of China’s control and administration over the Ayungin Shoal as China’s territory.”
“As Ayungin Shoal is a part of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Philippines, the proposal of China could not be considered by the Philippines without violating the Philippine constitution or international law,” the DFA stressed.
Manila and Beijing have been at loggerheads over the resource-rich waters, with China claiming the entire South China Sea, including waters and features of the West Philippine Sea, which covers the Philippines’ EEZ.
In 2016, the Philippines was awarded the arbitral ruling that denied the nine-dash line, the basis of China’s historical claims over the islands and waters in the entire South China Sea, including EEZs of neighboring Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
In rejecting the ruling, China has maintained an aggressive stance in the region, even firing water cannons at Philippine vessels taking humanitarian supplies to a military outpost at the Ayungin Shoal.