Skip to content

Philippines Today

home of the Global Filipino

Menu
  • News Stories
  • Regional News
  • Business & Economy
  • Science & Technology
  • International
Menu

U.S. envoy’s stand seen to boost PHL position in South China Sea disputes

Posted on June 24, 2013

A top US diplomat’s declaration of support for a peaceful approach to settling territorial disputes in the West Philippine Sea and South China Sea is a boost to the Philippines’ position on the issue, Malacañang said yesterday.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the pronouncement was in line with the Philippines’ efforts to achieve peace and development in the region.

“Our position has always been that there needs to be no coercion when it comes to resolving maritime disputes, and our approach has always been to adopt the rules-based scheme, which is very evident from the steps that we have taken in the several disputes that we are currently involved in,” Valte said over dzRB radio.

Danny Russel, the nominee to the top US diplomatic post in East Asia, said during his Senate confirmation hearing that there is no place for “coercion and bullying” in settling maritime disputes in the region.

Russel promised to do everything in his power to “lower the temperature” in the maritime row and push claimants, including China, toward diplomacy.

Valte also said the call of Russel for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to negotiate with China on the issue as a bloc is consistent with the Philippine position. China wants to discuss its maritime disputes with its neighbors on a bilateral basis.

Russel said it is “unacceptable” for China to demand only bilateral negotiations with the other claimants. He also voiced strong US support for efforts by ASEAN to subscribe to a “code of conduct” in managing maritime disputes – an issue to be taken up at a regional security conference in Brunei later this month.

Valte said the Philippines is pushing its position through diplomatic means and in proper venues such as the ASEAN and the United Nations.

Valte said there is no update yet on the UN case filed by the Philippines against China on the West Philippine Sea dispute, except for the resignation of Judge Chris Pinto for conflict of interest because he is married to a Filipina.

International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) president Shunji Yanai temporarily replaced Pinto.

Yanai appointed in April the remaining three members of the five-member UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Arbitral Tribunal, including himself, to hear the statement of claim filed by the Philippines against China.

“I think the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) expects there will be movement. The next step, apart from the formation of the panel, would be that the panel will be deciding if it has jurisdiction over the action, and I think that is supposed to come sometime in July,” Valte said.

Russel is currently White House senior director for Asian affairs. He is nominated to the post of assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific affairs, replacing Kurt Campbell, who resigned in February.

A 28-year career diplomat, Russel is considered less ebullient than Campbell. His long experience with Asia began in Japan where he spent three years studying martial arts. He is also an acknowledged expert in Korea issues.

Russel has also played a major role in the Obama administration’s strategic “pivot” to Asia that has witnessed the US taking a diplomatic position on maritime issues in the region.

Responding to Beijing’s displeasure, the US said it also has interest in the peaceful resolution of disputes over the West Philippine Sea.

Aside from the Philippines and China, four other nations – Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam and Brunei – have claims to reefs, islets, shoals, and atolls in what is believed to be the resource-rich West Philippine Sea. China claims sovereignty over the entire West Philippine Sea, East China and South China.

While the US itself is not a claimant, it says it has a stake in the freedom of navigation in busy sealanes, which are vital to world trade.

In his Senate appearance, Russel said he would continue to warn China that the region in which it would flourish “is a region of law, a region of order and a region of respect for neighbors, not one in which there is space for coercion and bullying.”

He said President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry had raised the issue of China’s behavior with its leaders, and that they “are in no doubt that America stands by our allies.”

In the past years, the most incendiary maritime disputes in the region have involved China and US treaty allies, the Philippines and Japan.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • More
  • Tumblr
  • Reddit

Related

News Categories

  • Announcement (34)
  • Business & Economy (1,567)
  • Comment and Opinion (74)
    • Random Thoughts (18)
  • Current Issues (425)
    • Charter Change (1)
    • Election (228)
    • Population (6)
  • International (389)
  • Life In Japan (66)
    • Everything Japan (41)
  • Literary (34)
  • Miscellaneous (610)
  • News Stories (5,312)
  • OFW Corner (297)
  • Others (75)
  • People (408)
  • Press Releases (163)
  • Regional News (3,362)
  • Science and Technology (502)
  • Sports & Entertainment (287)

Latest News

  • BSP keeps policy rates anew December 17, 2015
  • NEDA cuts PHL additional rice import for 2016 by 25% December 17, 2015
  • DA cites serious implications of banning genetically modified products December 17, 2015
  • BBL is not yet dead – Drilon December 17, 2015
  • Comelec recognizes Duterte’s CoC for president December 17, 2015
  • NEDA chief sees 2015 growth at 6% despite typhoons December 17, 2015
  • House of Representatives ratifies bicam report on P3.002-T national budget for 2016 December 17, 2015
  • Cebu-based developer invests PHP430M to build 709 townhouse units in north Cebu town December 17, 2015
  • City gov’t eyes P75-M income from economic enterprise December 17, 2015
  • Baguio City LGU presents traffic plan for holiday season December 17, 2015

Archives

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Science and Technology

  • DOST-ICTO targets 500,000 web-based workers from countryside by 2016
  • (Feature) STARBOOKS: A ‘makeover’ for librarians
  • Science, research reduce ‘cocolisap’ hotspot areas in PHL
  • Montejo to further improve PAGASA and empower scientists
  • 1st PPP in biomedical research produces knee replacement system fit for Asians

Press Releases

  • Microsoft to buy Nokia’s mobile devices business for 5.44-B euros
  • New World Bank climate change report should spur SEA and world leaders into action: Greenpeace
  • Save the Philippine Seas before it’s too late — Greenpeace
  • Palanca Awards’ last call for entries
  • Philippines joins the global call for Arctic protection

Comment and Opinion

  • Remembering the dead is a celebration of life
  • Killer earthquake unlikely to hit Panay Island in near future – analyst
  • It’s not just more fun to invest in the Philippines, it is also profitable, says President Aquino
  • How does one differentiate a tamaraw from a carabao?
  • Fun is not just about the place, it is also about the people, says DOT chief

OFW Corner

  • Ebola infection risk low in Croatia
  • Death toll rises to 41, over 100 still missing in landslide in India
  • Asbestos use in construction a labor hazard
  • 500,000 OFWs to benefit POEA on-line transactions — Baldoz
  • 25 distressed OFWs return home from Riyadh
©2025 Philippines Today | Design: Newspaperly WordPress Theme