Maroc - EURASIAREVIEW.COM - A la une - 13/Sep 15:40

Ensuring Peace And Stability In The South China Sea – OpEd

Current tensions between China and the Philippines as a result of persistent territorial disputes and maritime jurisdictional conflicts in South China Sea (SCS) are disturbing regional peace and stability. The current situation also undermines various efforts to cooperate in order to peacefully manage the SCS problem. If tensions between China and the Philippines continue unabated, it can regrettably disrupt the implementation of the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct (DOC) of Parties in the SCS and can cause further delay for the conclusion of the current negotiation on the Code of Conduct (COC) in the SCS. Poor implementation of the DOC and non-conclusion of the COC can make the peaceful settlement of disputes in SCS utterly difficult. There is no doubt that mismanagement of disputes in the SCS is a persistent threat to peace and stability in the Asia Pacific region. China and the Philippines continue to have misunderstanding in the SCS because the United States greatly influences the security outlook of the Philippines on the issue. Were it not for the intervention of the US, which has the enormous interest to shape the situation of the SCS for its own sake, China and the Philippines could have pursued pragmatic cooperation in the SCS in various areas like joint fishery management, search and rescue operation, marine environmental research and protection and even development of natural gas and oil, among others. Involvement of other extra-regional powers with strong anti-China agenda like Australia, Canada, Japan, United Kingdom, and the like complicate the peaceful settlement of disputes in the SCS. Vested interests of pro-US Filipino leaders and politicians also affect the direction of Philippine foreign policy towards China and the SCS. Many Filipino leaders are pushing back against China in the SCS because of their parochial interests to gain political mileage from the disputes instead of resolving it for the sake of national interests. The Philippine military also benefits from the ongoing disputes for justifying greater allocation for defense spending in order to achieve sectoral interests rather than spending for diplomatic settlement to uphold greater national interests. Even the general Filipino public has developed a strong anti-China sentiment in the SCS because of their continuing ignorance and misunderstanding on the many ramifications of the SCS problem predominantly viewed in the Philippines from narrow and even self-serving Western perspectives. To ensure peace and stability in the SCS and to improve the current state of Philippines-China relations, it is imperative for Filipino and Chinese academics and scholars to level up their efforts in conducting more activities that can encourage their two governments to rebuild confidence, create mutual trust, and pursue mutual respect towards diplomatic settlement. China and the Philippines have continuing tensions in their bilateral ties because of utter lost of confidence, trust, and respect with each other. The two governments need to regain confidence, rebuild mutual trust, and reestablish reciprocal respect in order to resuscitate their friendship and good relations. Without friendship and good ties, it will be difficult for them to peacefully settle their disputes in SCS. Friendship and good neighborliness are vital ingredients for the peaceful settlement of disputes in SCS for common development, shared prosperity, and cooperative security. One important step to calm the current situation is for the two governments to exercise self-restraint in conducting unilateral activities in the SCS that are considered t be hostile with each other. Both governments should refrain from conducting hostile unilateral activities that can cause serious misunderstanding that may even lead to unnecessary violent accidents that are inimical not only to good bilateral relations but are also harmful not only to national but also regional security interests. In fact, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) urges all parties in maritime disputes to take a conciliatory approach and to deliberately avoid hostile actions in order to prevent unintended violent encounters at sea. When undertaking unilateral activities in disputed areas, UNCLOS obligates states to take actions that entail cooperation, consultation, and most importantly, prior notification. UNCLOS even mandates all parties to maritime disputes to come out with a final delimitation agreement to encourage cooperation and avoid violent conflict. But pending a peaceful settlement through a final delimitation agreement, UNCLOS requires coastal states in conflicts to make every effort to enter into a provisional arrangement to promote development cooperation of practical nature without prejudice to existing national claims. Delivered at the “Dialogue Among the Wise:  The South China Sea, How To Maintain Peace and Stability” held at the  Center for International Security and Strategy, Tsinghua University on 14 September 2024.