By Beatrice Puente
(November 17, 2022) – President Bongbong Marcos Jr. on Thursday will hold a bilateral talk with China President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Thailand where he is expected to bring up the issue of the West Philippine Sea.
Marcos flew yesterday to Bangkok to attend the annual meeting of economic leaders in the region. Just last week, Marcos was in Cambodia to take part in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit.
“Prior to his attendance at the ASEAN Summits in Cambodia last week, President Marcos said the West Philippine Sea will be one of his top agenda if he meets with the Chinese president,” said the Office of the Press Secretary in a media release.
The Malacañang earlier announced that Marcos will also have a state visit to China in January.
Marcos previously said it would be impossible for him to talk to Xi without touching on the issue of the West Philippine Sea, which became even more pressing during the term of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
In a dialogue with ASEAN leaders, Marcos stressed the importance of coming up with the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea to better guide nations on how to move in the disputed waters. But Marcos, in a press briefing in Manila, said they were unable to have any progress.
Aside from the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam also have competing claims in the strategic waterway where $3 trillion worth of seaborne trade passes annually.
“We all just restated over and over again,” said Marcos last weekend. “There’s been some progress in the past year but we really need to have the actual code of conduct already finalized and already in place as soon as possible.”
China has repeatedly denied the claims of the Philippines and other countries in the South China Sea based on its nine-dash line, which the Permanent Court of Arbitration nullified in 2016. It was ruled in relation to the case filed by the administration of the late former President Noynoy Aquino III.
The landmark ruling affirmed the sovereign rights of the Philippines over the portion of the sea within its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone as stated in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). But Duterte dismissed it as “a piece of paper to be thrown in the waste basket.”
Maritime experts urged Marcos to depart from the soft approach of Duterte because of its negative impact on the country. Some also lauded Marcos for bringing up the issue quite often.
“We must ensure that the South China Sea remains a sea of peace, security, stability, and prosperity,” said Marcos. “With the UNCLOS and international law as our basis, the South China Sea will be a nexus of vibrant economic engagements and interactions, not an epicenter of armed conflict or geopolitical maneuverings.”
(PM)
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