FILE PHOTO: Scarborough Shoal pointed at a map (UNTV News)
Presumptive president Rodrigo Duterte has recently told U.S. President Barrack Obama that he is open to have bilateral talks with China if current efforts to resolve the dispute fail to prosper.
A maritime law expert believes having bilateral talks with China is a positive step in a sense that it opens up the option for the Philippines to lower the tension in the disputed South China Sea.
“It will help reduce the possibility of an incident that may occur from a misunderstanding in the West Philippine Sea that may lead to escalation or conflict (…) Our problem right now is that it’s not clear what exactly he will say or signal to Chinese when he talks to them,” Prof. Jay Batongbacal said in a phone interview.
In the coming weeks, the arbitration court is expected to release a decision on the case the Philippines filed against China.
In an exclusive interview with New York Times, outgoing President Aquino says the reality is that the Philippines needs outside help in resolving the West Philippine Sea issue.
The president also said that the U.S. is obligated to help the Philippines should China move to reclaim the Scarborough shoal, another hotly contested area in the West Philippine Sea.
The president added, that for now there is no indication yet that Beijing has imminent plans to develop the reef there.
Duterte has recently questioned why the Philippines lost control of the disputed territory.
But Prof. Jay Batongbacal says that legally, the Philippines has not yet lost the Scarborough shoal.
“Since we are not able to go there freely and our fishermen are not able to fish there without interference, we seem to have lost a large amount of control in that area,” Prof. Batongbacal explained.
(DARLENE BASINGAN/UNTV News)
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