U.S., Australia, Japan to PH: Follow the ruling you won
HAGUE
RULING. Following the lead of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte,
Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano downplays the Hague
ruling won by the Philippines to boost economic ties with the Chinese.
Photo by Angie de Silva/Rappler
MANILA, Philippines – The United States, Japan, and
Australia urged the Philippines on Monday, August 7, to abide by its own
legal victory against China over the disputed South China Sea.
These countries' foreign ministers – Rex Tillerson of the
US, Taro Kono of Japan, and Julie Bishop of Australia – issued the same
reminder to China at the end of their trilateral meeting in Manila. This
took place on the sidelines of the 50th Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers' Meeting and Related Meetings in
Manila.
"The ministers called on China and the Philippines to
abide by the Arbitral Tribunal's 2016 Award in the Philippines-China
arbitration, as it is final and legally binding on both parties," the
ministers' joint statement said.
The 3 foreign ministers were referring to the Philippines' legal victory against China
before a Hague tribunal in July 2016. Following the lead of Philippine
President Rodrigo Duterte, Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter
Cayetano has downplayed the ruling to boost economic ties with Beijing.
(READ: PH hails ties with China on year 1 of Hague ruling)
In their joint statement on Monday, Tillerson, Kono, and
Bishop also "expressed serious concerns over maritime disputes in the
South China Sea (SCS)," parts of which the Philippines claims as the
West Philippine Sea.
"The ministers voiced their strong opposition to coercive
unilateral actions that could alter the status quo and increase
tensions," the joint statement said.
'Refrain from land reclamation'
The 3 ministers then urged claimants in the South China
Sea "to refrain from land reclamation, construction of outposts,
militarization of disputed features, and undertaking unilateral actions
that cause permanent physical change to the marine environment in areas
pending delimitation."
At the same time, the ministers urged ASEAN member states
and China to quickly finalize a legally binding Code of Conduct (COC) in
the South China Sea.
Their joint statement comes after China warned ASEAN on Sunday, August 6, against "outside parties" in drafting a COC.
Also on Sunday, ASEAN foreign ministers criticized China's land reclamation activities in the South China Sea, defying expectations of a weaker statement at the end of their Manila meeting.
Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio
earlier criticized the Duterte administration for not asking the world
to support the Philippines after the ruling came out in July 2016.
"When the ruling came out, we did not ask the international community to support us anymore. We dropped the ball," Carpio said in a forum on July 12 this year. – Rappler.com
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