By Karen Lema and Mikhail Flores
MANILA (Reuters) -The Philippines rejects the “use of force” to undermine its interests in the contested South China Sea but does not want any conflict and has agreed with China to ease tensions on a contested shoal, officials said here Friday.
“We don’t want war,” National Security Advisor Eduardo Ano told reporters in Manila.
Ano said efforts are underway to ease tensions in the disputed waterway, where Manila and Beijing have accused each other of aggressive behavior involving their ships and damaging the marine environment.
At the center of the recent standoffs is the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, where the Philippines maintains a rusting warship manned by a small crew that deliberately ran aground in 1999 to bolster its maritime claims. It regularly sends supply missions to the troops stationed there.
Last month, Manila accused China’s Coast Guard of intentionally ramming and puncturing navy ships and seizing weapons to disrupt a military resupply mission, seriously injuring a Filipino sailor who lost a finger.
China claims nearly the entire South China Sea, including the Second Thomas Shoal, and rejects a 2016 ruling by the Hague Permanent Court of Arbitration that Beijing’s expansive claims had no basis in international law. The case was brought to court by the Philippines.
“We reject any attempt to deny our strategic agencies, especially through the use of force that seeks to coerce and subordinate the national interests of the Philippines,” Ano said separately at a forum marking the eighth anniversary of the Hague decision.
Ano said the way forward would be to defend the 2016 award and oppose efforts to undermine its significance.
“It is not and will never be a mere piece of paper,” he said, alluding to the way former President Rodrigo Duterte described the award as he sought closer ties with Beijing.
China maintains that its actions in the South China Sea were legal and professional.
Ano repeated that the Philippines is “committed to the cause of peace.” “We are committed to addressing and managing difficult issues through dialogue and diplomacy,” he said.
On Friday, the European Union (EU) issued a statement to mark the anniversary of the South China Sea arbitration ruling, saying all parties must “respect and honor the award,” which was “legally binding.”
China rebuked the EU for its statement, saying the latter ignored historical and objective facts and “openly supports” what it called the Philippines’ violation of its sovereignty.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a statement on the anniversary of the decision, said his country remains “deeply concerned” about China’s actions in the disputed waters.
“We continue to call on the PRC (People’s Republic of China) to comply with the 2016 arbitration ruling, to cease its dangerous and destabilizing conduct,” Blinken said.
(Reporting by Mikhail Flores and Karen Lema; Editing by John Mair and Michael Perry)
