DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 21 July) — The Southeast Asian countries should seek help from the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to demilitarize South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea, as the Chinese government will not negotiate for peaceful resolution of territorial disputes for as long as it has military superiority, former Bayan Muna representative Neri Colmenares said.
At a pre-SONA forum titled “Unsay Mapalit sa imong 20 pesos?” at the Ateneo de Davao University (ADDU) on Saturday afternoon, Colmenares said the Southeast Asian countries with territorial claims over the South China Sea, particularly Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia, may file a joint resolution for the demilitarization with the UN body.
He said these countries would get the support of the UNGA, the organization’s main policy-making body, as the UN may intervene amid the looming threat to peace in the region following China’s aggressive actions in claiming the disputed maritime territories.
“Do we get the votes? I think we will get the votes of the General Assembly because the international community does not like the actions (of China) in the South China Sea. Once we get the votes, that will be the start of the project of demilitarization,” he told representatives of various sectors at the forum organized by Konsyensya Dabaw (KD) and the ADDU’s University Community Engagement and Advocacy (UCEAC).
He said the UNGA has extensive experience in demilitarization territories, including Serbia in Europe, Vietnam, and the establishment of a demilitarized zone or DMZ between North Korean and South Korea in the hopes of attaining peace.
Colmenares asserts that the UNGA has a much stronger voice than the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which upheld in 2016 the territorial claims of the Philippines over the West Philippine Sea.
He said the Philippine government has “nothing to lose but has everything to gain” if it joins its neighbors in Southeast Asia in raising the territorial disputes with the UNGA.
“Ngayon kung hindi sundin ng China ang UN General Assembly (Now, if China does not follow UN General Assembly), that will further isolate China from the international community and lalong mahirapan ang China na gumawa ng aggressive action (and it will make it more difficult for China to do aggressive action),” she said.
Once the UNGA issues a resolution in favor of demilitarization, he said all military installations in the disputed maritime territories, including that of Chinese and the Philippines, will be dismantled.
He said China is a “bully” and with its military might, it cannot be compelled to negotiate with the Philippines.
“Demilitarization is mainly the dismantling of all military installations in the South China Sea… Only until then will statements from governments be effective because as long as China has military superiority, it will not sit down with us to discuss a peace resolution of the South China Sea dispute,” he said.
He added that once the UN General Assembly takes action, it will put China on the “defensive,” preventing it from taking further “aggressive actions” over the West Philippine Sea.
Colmenares added that the Philippine government does not need to play the “US card” in the territorial dispute with China as did the administration of late President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.
“When we played the US card, anong benefit natin? (What was our benefit?) Did we gain anything in the South China Sea? No, we lost a lot.
He said the US will not help the country in its territorial claims because it has no interest in the West Philippine Sea.
“Kailangan nagkaroon ng mga military bases and installations ang China sa West Philippine Sea? Seven reefs ang nilagyan nila ng military installations and it started in 2013 up to 2018. Sabi ko sa kanila may ginawa ba ang America? Wala. (When did China start putting up military bases and installations in the West Philippine Sea? Military installations were put up over at least seven reefs, and it started in 2013 up to 2018. I asked them, did America do something? It did not),” Colmenares added.
He said former President Rodrigo Duterte, who played the “China card,” did not assert the country’s territorial claims despite the 2016 arbitral ruling in favor of the Philippines for fear that the Chinese government might invade the country.
“May aral ka ba dun kung igiit mo yung territorial claims lulusobin ka ng China? Problema ni President Duterte, he became president without even studying the policies of the country (Was there even a study that if you assert your territorial claims, China will invade you? The problem with President Duterte, he became president without even studying the policies of the country),” he said.
He urged the current Marcos Jr. administration to pursue a foreign policy that is pro-Filipinos, and not pro-China or pro-US.
“Do we need to get China, US, or whoever? Ganun ba tayo ka walang kwentang lahi na hindi tayo mag survive kung hindi tayo kakapit sa ibang malaking bansa? (Are we such a useless race that we can’t survive without the help of big countries?)” he said.
He said the Philippines can even do joint maritime patrols with Southeast Asian neighbors to safeguard their own territories from Chinese intrusion, saying that China cannot undermine the combined forces of these countries. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
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