Some Chinese proposals on WPS row run contrary to PH Constitution: DFA

SPOTTED. Chinese fishing vessels are seen swarming the Iroquois Reef, which is located south of the oil and gas-rich Recto Bank in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), based on the air patrol conducted by the Western Command (Wescom) on June 30, 2023. The Wescom on Friday (July 7, 2023) said a detailed report on the incident would be forwarded to higher authorities. (Photo: Western Command Armed Forces of the Philippines/Facebook)

MANILA – The Philippines has denied ignoring China’s proposals to manage tensions in the South China Sea, saying some of them cannot be considered as they run contrary to the national interest and the Constitution itself.

The statement came after The Manila Times quoted a Chinese official as saying Beijing has submitted 11 concept papers, including on the Ayungin Shoal and the fishing issue on Scarborough Shoal, but “were met with inaction” by Manila.

“The DFA had received last year a number of concept papers from China on various maritime-related proposals. In no way did the Philippine Government ignore China’s proposals,” the DFA statement on Tuesday read.

“Upon receipt of the Chinese proposals, the Philippine Government had immediately undertaken serious study and consideration of all of them,” it added.

The DFA said it had lengthy and in-depth consultations with various government agencies and held several rounds of discussions but found that some of the proposals if pushed would equate to violating the Philippine Constitution.

“While a few proposals were deemed somewhat workable, many of the remaining Chinese proposals were determined, after careful study, scrutiny and deliberation within the Philippine Government, to be contrary to our national interests,” it said.

The DFA said it cannot enter into any “agreement or understanding” that would undermine the Philippine Constitution or denigrate the legally-settled rights of the Philippines under international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 Arbitral Award.

Still, Manila continued engaging Beijing and submitted counter proposals in 2023.

Instead of considering these, the DFA said the Chinese side presented its own counter-proposals, “which again did not reflect our interests, especially on issues such as the South China Sea”.

The DFA also confirmed that Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong discussed the proposals when he visited Manila in March 2023.

The Chinese diplomat, the DFA said, referred to a so-called “gentlemen’s agreement” where “China insisted on actions that would be deemed as acquiescence or recognition of China’s control and administration over the Ayungin Shoal as China’s territory.”

“As Ayungin Shoal is a part of the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines, the proposal of China could not be considered by the Philippines without violating the Philippine constitution or international law,” the DFA said.

It added that these proposals were again discussed in person during the 8th Bilateral Consultation Meeting on the South China Sea on Jan. 17, 2024.

Based on DFA’s January release, the only agreement made at that time was to “deescalate” the situation in the South China Sea when they both presented their respective positions on the Ayungin Shoal.