Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 27) — China pushed for some changes in the resolution on settling maritime disputes before signing it at the recently concluded Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF), a Philippine senator bared Monday.
The Philippines hosted the 31st APPF this year. During the forum, member states proposed 37 resolutions, but the drafting committee consolidated the measures down to 10 and adopted these. Strengthening the Capacity of Parliaments to Promote Peace and Stability is one of the resolutions adopted by the APPF.
Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa chaired the plenary session and working group on political and security matters, which focused on strengthening the capacity of parliaments to promote peace and stability and to combat transnational crimes.
Speaking to CNN Philippines’ The Source, Dela Rosa said Chinese delegates expressed reservations “paragraph by paragraph” about the draft resolution on settling maritime disputes.
“The most glaring objection coming from China is that apparently they don’t want to resolve issues, particularly territorial issues,” he said. “They don’t want to resolve them via international bodies or through the observance of international laws. They want to go back to the traditional mode of settling…maritime disputes via one-on-one settlement.”
“They don’t want to observe UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea),” he added.
The Philippines drafted a resolution urging APPF member parliaments to “support relevant states as they earnestly work toward early conclusion of an effective and substantive” Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, consistent with international law, particularly the UNCLOS.
Proposals put forward by Indonesia and Japan also mentioned maritime issues and UNCLOS.
“Later on, pagdating sa drafting committee, there were words that were removed, some phrases were replaced, so ultimately nag-agree din ang China na maipasa ‘yong resolution na ‘yon,” Dela Rosa said.
[Translation: At the drafting committee, there were words that were removed, some phrase were replaced, so ultimately China agreed to pass the resolution.]
The Philippines, China, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam have overlapping claims in the South China Sea, a strategic waterway where trillions of dollars of international trade pass through annually.
Since 2021, Beijing has escalated its aggression in the West Philippine Sea — a portion of the South China Sea claimed by the Manila — by its use of military-grade lasers, water cannons, and dangerous maneuvers resulting in collisions with Philippine civilian and government vessels.
According to the joint communiqué signed on Nov. 25, APPF member parliaments “committed to increase their efforts in promoting and maintaining peace, security, stability, safety, and freedom of the high seas, consistent with the 1982 UNCLOS.”
