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Interview: Tribunal award on S. China Sea complicates things but further talks can take place: Italian expert

Xinhua, July 14, 2016 Adjust font size:

The award delivered Tuesday by the arbitral tribunal on the South China Sea set up at Philippines' unilateral request might complicate things in the disputed region, but it does not preclude chances of further negotiations between China and the Philippines, a renowned Italian expert on political science and international relations has said.

Tenured Prof. Giuseppe Sacco made the remarks in an interview with Xinhua.

"The arbitration award might complicate things, of course," Sacco said, however, adding that China's national sovereignty and maritime interests in the area would not, in any circumstances, be affected by the ruling.

As a researcher in political science and international relations for Rome University and Luiss University in Rome, Sacco said he believes there are chances for China and the Philippines to return to the negotiation table for better and practical solutions.

"Yet, I expect the Philippines' newly-elected President (Rodrigo) Duterte to keep pursuing his own line, which is to favor negotiations and not take China head-on," he said.

"Furthermore, the dialogue among the countries in the region is ongoing, thanks to the various associations and forums, such as the ASEAN group, as well as the Belt and Road initiative proposed by Beijing," Sacco added.

Resorting to arbitration was much the decision of former Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III, who was considered a strong U.S. ally, the expert noted.

"It was Aquino who raised the arbitration issue, and he passed on the cumbersome heritage to Duterte. Yet the current president has undoubtedly the intention to be more independent from the U.S., and has repeatedly voiced his will to set peaceful negotiations with Beijing," Sacco said.

The political aspects behind the South China Sea dispute between the Philippines and China were indeed very relevant, according to the professor. "The subject making the action is Manila, but the party most concerned is the U.S."

One reason is that, on the Philippine mainland exactly facing the Huangyan Island, "which has been at the center of the dispute, lies Subic Bay, that has long been a main U.S. naval base, and is at the center of an area were American military presence is again very relevant," he explained.

Subic Bay held strategic importance during the Cold War, the expert said. It has again become very relevant to the U.S. in recent years, after President Barack Obama's administration launched the "pivot to Asia" strategy, marking a shift in U.S. foreign policy from Europe and the Middle East to the Asian Pacific region.

"Within this context, the U.S. signed various agreements and military treaties with some countries in the region, including the treaty to enhance defense cooperation with the Philippines in 2014," he said.

The government of former Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III filed the arbitration against China in 2013, despite the agreement his country had reached with China on resolving their disputes in the South China Sea through bilateral negotiations.

The tribunal issued its final award on Tuesday, sweepingly siding with Manila's cunningly packaged claims. Among other conclusions it reached in the 479-page award in blatant disregard of historical facts and general international law, the five-member tribunal denied China's long-standing historical rights in the South China Sea.

China has refused to participate in the proceedings, reiterating that the tribunal has no jurisdiction over the case, which is in essence related to territorial sovereignty and maritime delimitation.

The Chinese government has pointed out that territorial issues are not governed by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and that it has -- in line with UNCLOS -- excluded disputes concerning maritime delimitation from mandatory dispute-settlement procedures. Some 30 other countries have also made similar exclusions.

Describing the arbitration as a political farce under the pretext of law, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said that by not participating in and not accepting the arbitration, China is upholding international law and regional rules. Endit