The Philippines’ pyrrhic victory — Malcolm Cook
Yet, new Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay has been widely criticised in the Philippines for appearing contrite, even apologetic in the first press conference after the ruling.
This despite the ruling comprehensively upholding the case filed by the Philippines against China in January 2013, and deeming much of China’s claims and actions in the Philippine exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea unlawful.
Why such a sombre official tone in face of a major victory? A victory for the rules-based order weaker states depend on.
President Duterte may well see the ruling as a pyrrhic victory and an unwelcome legacy of his predecessor, Benigno Aquino.
During the election campaign Duterte queried the wisdom of filing the case against China given the damage it has caused to their bilateral relationship — China’s outright rejection of the tribunal and the case, and the Philippines’ manifest inability to enforce any ruling handed down.
Mr Duterte proposed a return to the approach of Aquino’s predecessor,s Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
This approach adhered to China’s favoured two-step approach; private bilateral talks uninterrupted by Chinese assertive actions in the disputed waters, and joint development of resources in these waters.
China and the Philippines, along with Vietnam, agreed to undertake joint seismic exploration for energy resources in the disputed waters durings Arroyo’s term.
Likes Arroyo, Duterte envisaged a more equidistant relationship for the Philippines in relation to its ally, the United States and its largest source of imports, China.
Notably, China has welcomed Duterte’s decisive election victory, with the Chinese foreign ministry expressing “hope that the new Philippine government will work in unison with us, veer away from the wrong path taken by the former government, return to the right track of having dialogue and consultation with China, and make tangible efforts to improve and develop China-Philippines relations”.
The ruling, and China’s predicted vitriolic response to it has made this desired return to past policies and whats Arroyo lauded as the “golden moment” in Philippine-China relations very unlikely.
Any hopes of joint development appear dashed. The ruling clearly states that no feature claimed by China covered by the Philippine case is an island with attendant rights to an exclusive economic zone.
It went further and deemed that past Chinese actions to stop Philippine energy exploration and production efforts at Reed Bank violated the sovereign rights of the Philippines in its exclusive economic zone.
Restarting bilateral talks on the dispute will also be very difficult. After the ruling, China has reiterated that any resumptions of talks between Manila and Beijing must be held on the basis of ignoring the ruling. Duterte has repeatedly stated the exact opposite.
The comprehensive nature of the ruling in favour of the Philippine case and against China’s claims in the Philippine exclusive economic zone has simply hardened these positions and widened this impasse.
Mr Duterte would face a serious backlash domestically for any real or imagined concession to China that went against the ruling.
He has asked former President Fidel Ramos to be a special envoy for bilateral talks, and the administration’s first National Security Council meeting on July 25 will focus on the issue of bilateral talks with China in light of the tribunal ruling. Even maintaining the status quo of the fractured bilateral relationship will be difficult.
Chinese coast guard vessels have already impeded Philippine fishing boats from the fishing grounds near Scarborough Shoal.
On July 13, Chinese civilian passenger planes landed on Subi and Mischief Reefs, both determined to be only low-tide elevations devoid of maritime rights.
The tribunal ruled that China’s construction of an artificial island and runway on Mischief Reef without the prior permission from the Philippines was a violation of Philippine sovereign rights. China has yet to show signs of relenting on these activities deemed unlawful.
The new Duterte administration, which has promised to uphold the rights of Philippine fishermen, will be under pressure to publicly criticise these unlawful Chinese actions, criticisms that will likely be seen as provocative by an unrepentant China.
New Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has already stated that, in light of the ruling, the Philippines will have to continue the Aquino administration’s focus on territorial defence and military modernisation, a focus in which China is the threat and the US the most important partner.
Based on the statements made by Duterte since he chose to run for President last November, he clearly has a different approach to relations with China, the US and upholding the Philippine national interest than that of Aquino.
The July 12 ruling strongly supports the approach taken by Aquino and challenges Duterte’s one.
The Duterte administration may well wonder if the gain from this victory is worth its pain. — TODAY
* Dr Malcolm Cook is Senior Fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute. The views are his own. This is part of a series on what the tribunal ruling means for other countries in the region.
**This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the view of Malay Mail Online.
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