The Philippines rejected China’s request for talks on their South China Sea dispute because it asked Manila to “disregard” a court ruling on the issue, the foreign minister said on Tuesday. A UN-backed tribunal said last week there was no legal basis for China’s claims to most of the strategic, resource-rich waters, with Beijing staunchly denouncing the decision.
“They asked us also to open ourselves for bilateral negotiations but outside of and in disregard of the arbitral ruling, so this is something that I told him was not consistent with our constitution and our national interest,” Perfecto Yasay said. The foreign secretary, interviewed by broadcaster ABS-CBN, said he and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi discussed the possibility of bilateral talks on the sidelines of an Asia-Europe summit in Mongolia last weekend but made no headway. The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled Beijing had violated the Philippines’ sovereign rights to exploit resources in waters up to 340 kilometres (230 miles) beyond its coast, called its exclusive economic zone.
The fish-rich Scarborough Shoal, which lies about 230 kilometres from the Philippine coast, is a “traditional fishing ground” that should be open to Filipino, Chinese and other fishermen, the tribunal said.
“We would like to discuss with you how your (Filipino) fishermen would have access in that area, but not in the context of the arbitral tribunal (decision),” Yasay quoted Wang as telling him in Mongolia.
“They said, ‘If you will insist on the ruling, discussing along those lines, then we might be headed for a confrontation’,” the Filipino minister said in the interview.