Beijing calls for dialogue with Manila but insists Philippines drop South China Sea Hague case
Issue over territorial disputes can be settled through bilateral negotiation, says foreign ministry
China has called on the Philippines to stop its international court proceedings on the South China Sea territorial disputes, but also stressed that it was still open to dialogue with Manila to settle the issue.
The call on Wednesday from the foreign ministry comes ahead of a ruling expected from the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague in a case filed by the Philippines against China over islands in the contested waters.
China urges the Philippines to immediately cease its wrongful conduct of advancing the arbitration proceedings
The ministry said in a statement that China continued to neither accept nor take part in the case and was committed to settling the disputes through bilateral negotiation.
“China urges the Philippines to immediately cease its wrongful conduct of advancing the arbitration proceedings, and return to the right path of settling the relevant disputes in the South China Sea... through bilateral negotiation with China,” it said.
Beijing has rejected the court’s jurisdiction over the issue, refused to take part in the proceedings and vowed to ignore its ruling.
“On issues concerning territory and maritime delimitation, China does not accept any means of dispute settlement imposed on it; nor does China accept any recourse to third-party settlement,” the ministry said.
The ministry’s statement is China’s third official document on the case in three years.
In December 2014, almost two years after the court proceedings started, the ministry issued a position paper on its legal grounds to deny the court’s authority. The following October, after the court decided it had jurisdiction, Beijing issued another statement strongly criticising the Philippines.
The latest paper accuses the Philippines of unilaterally closing the door to talks and making “provocative moves” that caused the two countries’ relations to deteriorate and affect the peace and stability in the South China Sea.
“[But] the door of China-Philippines bilateral negotiation is always open,” it said.
“It is the common agreement and commitment of China and the Philippines to settle their relevant disputes in the South China Sea through negotiation.”
Analysts said Beijing saw the inauguration of a new government in Manila later this month as an opportunity, with president-elect Rodrigo Duterte making friendly gestures to Beijing, in contrast to his outgoing leader Benigno Aquino.
The Philippines can’t challenge China militarily but it has continued to pursue the moral and legal high ground
Two weeks ago, President Xi Jinping sent a message to congratulate Duterte on his election. In the message, Xi said he hoped relations could be back on track, referring to a long history of friendly exchanges and the “deep traditional friendship” shared by the two countries.
But Zhang Mingliang, a Southeast Asian affairs expert at Jinan University, said there was very little chance the Duterte administration would abandon the international arbitration case given it was likely to go in Manila’s favour. “The Philippines can’t challenge China militarily but it has continued to pursue the moral and legal high ground,” Zhang said.
Xie Yanmei, a senior China analyst at International Crisis Group, said Beijing hoped Duterte would not use a court ruling in Manila’s favour to criticise China.
“China wants to press the Philippines to downplay future tribunal decisions,” Xie said. “Its bottom line is that countries outside the region, like the United States and Japan, not get involved.”
