FORMER Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario on Monday criticized the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte for not protesting China’s military presence in the disputed West Philippine Sea, and expressed sadness at how the administration is disregarding the ruling of a UN tribunal in Manila’s favor.
In a statement, Del Rosario continued his call to the government to position itself strongly in upholding international law and defending the country’s claims in the disputed sea.
“The foregoing declarations are most sadly being made after we had taken a firm rules-based position to defend what is ours—and won,” Del Rosario said.
Del Rosario’s statement came after the Duterte administration declared that it would not protest China’s latest aggression and violation of international law by deploying a missile systems in the disputed sea.
Del Rosario also expressed concern over Duterte’s pronouncement that the Philippines is willing to set aside the arbitral ruling that declared China’s claim to the sea as illegal and excessive.
“We appear to be well on the way to placing the country’s future in the hands of our northern neighbor who—even as our government had fostered a closer relations between our two countries—is now effectively demeaning our stand for upholding the rule of law by its continuing and clear violations of Unclos to our detriment,” Del Rosario said.
In the previous administration, the Department of Foreign Affairs was consistent in defending the country’s claims to the sea, protesting against China every time it violated the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea or Unclos.
However, under the new leadership of Perfecto Yasay Jr., the departmenbt has already said that it will not file a diplomatic protest against China over its deployment of missile systems in the South China Sea.
“Mutual respect for the rule of law, we now know, is not possible,” the retired diplomat added.
Del Rosario said the Philippines had no option but to position itself strongly over its claims in the South China Sea.
“Before it is too late, we have no other option but to posture ourselves strongly with responsible nations to continue to uphold international law,” he said.
Failure to do so, he said, would leave the Philippines in an “undesirable place” and “left twisting in the wind.”
Yasay, in a statement, said it was not an opportune time to insist on the country’s claim to the disputed sea.
He said under Duterte, the administration is focused on building a mutual relationship of trust with China before raising sensitive issues.
“Since President Duterte assumed office, one of his primary foreign policy priorities has been revitalizing bilateral ties with China,” Yasay said.
He said Duterte has been working hard to build confidence and trust with China, given the rock relations between the two countries in the past.
“The Philippine government agencies, especially those in the political and security sectors, have been hard at work building confidence and trust with their Chinese counterparts,” Yasay said.
He said the Philippines will continue being friends with China until it has achieved a level of trust where it can raise concerns over the South China Sea.
Yasay assured the public, however, that the Philippines is not giving up its claims.
“While it may not yet be opportune to bring up the arbitral ruling, the Philippine government reaffirms its respect for this milestone ruling and will be guided by its parameters when tackling the issue of maritime claims in the South China Sea,” Yasay said.