Interview: Italian expert urges Beijing, Manila to open new dialogues over S. China Sea

An Italian expert has urged concerted efforts from China and the Philippines to soothe regional tensions by initiating a new phase of dialogues over their South China Sea disputes.

The maritime disputes between China and the Philippines, if not properly handled, would be detrimental to the region that is "going through a fast economic and social development," Matteo Bressan, emerging challenges analyst with the NATO Defense College Foundation, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

He urged Manila to deal with the issue "in an appropriate way, so as to guarantee regional growth and prosperity and promote synergies and cooperation rather than more confrontation" among countries in the region.

Bressan suggested Beijing and Manila begin a new phase of dialogues through confidence-building measures in the political, economic and cultural fields, which are conducive to the improvement of the climate between the two sides.

The South China Sea dispute between Beijing and Manila was unilaterally brought to the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague by the administration of former Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III in 2013.

A PCA tribunal is about to announce its ruling over the case on Tuesday.

China asserts the arbitral tribunal has no authority over cases essentially about territorial sovereignty and maritime delimitation.

Beijing has made it clear it will not accept a forced arbitration while repeatedly urging Manila to drop the case, and resort to bilateral negotiations so as to find a peaceful solution to the issue.

Bressan pointed out that the relationship between Manila and Washington is another factor affecting the settlement of the territorial disputes between the Philippines and China.

This year has marked an increasingly active U.S. military presence in the South China Sea, with the U.S. Navy staging a series of so-called "freedom of navigation operations" in the strategic waterway.

But the fact is that China has never threatened freedom of navigation and depends on the safe passage of goods in the South China Sea for its own development.

Bressan called upon Washington and Beijing to avoid confrontations as their relations have a vital role in easing regional tensions.

"An improvement in the China-U.S. relations could lead to a slowdown and to an easing of tensions, consequently helping promote the political dialogues among the parties involved in the dispute," the analyst said. Endit