By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
Bulatlat.com
MANILA — The Pambansang Lakas ng Mamamalakayang Pilipinas
(Pamalakaya) has issued a demand that the Benigno Aquino III
administration stop its plans to ask the United Nations to send a
peacekeeping force and help keep China in check in relation to the
conflict involving territorial rights over the West Philippine Sea and
the group of islands collectively known as the Spratly Islands.
Recently, Muntinlupa Rep. Rodolfo Biazon said Malacañang should
appeal to the UN for help and keep China and its naval forces from
occupying the disputed islands. He said the territorial dispute between
China and the Philippines can and should be settled with the help of the
UN. Recent reports have it that a large fleet of Chinese fishing
vessels have been spotted nearPag-asa Island. He said the request for
deployment of UN peacekeeping forces could be included in the case the
Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) intend to file with the
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (Itlos) for the settlement
of the Philippines’ dispute with China over Panatag Shoal. All this is
based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos).
Biazon was a former Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines (AFP) under the Corazon Aquino administration and current
chairman of the House Committee on national defense.
According to Wikipedia, the term “peacekeeping” is not found in the
UN Charter, but the authorization is generally considered to lie in or
between Chapter 6 and Chapter 7 of the same. Chapter 6 describes the
Security Council’s power to investigate and mediate disputes, while
Chapter 7 discusses the power to authorize economic, diplomatic, and
military sanctions, as well as the use of military force, to resolve
disputes. The founders of the UN envisioned that the organization would
act to prevent conflicts between nations and make future wars
impossible.
Pamalakaya vice chairperson Salvador France, in a statement, called
the proposal “impractical and dangerous.” He said even as his group
takes a stand against China’s excursions and bullying attempts, it is
against suggestions to bring in UN peacekeeping forces to the Spratlys.
Instead of preventing any possibility of a conflict erupting between
the Philippines and China, he said, Biazon’s proposal could serve to
complicate the political-territorial dispute.
“We cannot dismiss the possibility that along with UN peacekeeping
forces, there will also be troublemakers from the Pentagon and from
other junior partners of the US,” France said.
Explore all diplomatic venues to settle dispute
The fisherfolk leader said suggestions such as those posed by the
Muntinlupa congressman might serve to increase the tension between China
and the Philippines and justify the increasingly aggressive presence
of US military forces in the country. He said the country’s leaders
should consider other rational and more workable solutions to address
and resolve the West Philippine Sea conflict.
“They should stop fueling distrust and aggravating the situation in
accordance to the game plan of US in Spratlys and in Asia and the
Pacific region. By all means, the Aquino government should explore all
available diplomatic venues and channels to end the long-running
conflict with Beijing, instead of toeing the US’ line on the issue.
It’s crucial that Malacañang asserts the country’s national sovereignty
and territorial integrity, but it should do so without obeying US
impositions and Washington dictates. The Philippines cannot negotiate
effectively if we are doing so not on the strength of people’s
sovereignty but on the whims and caprices of the United States,” he
argued.
For all of its stand against Biazon’s first proposal, Pamalakaya
however gave a thumbs up to the lawmaker’s call to file a case before
the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (Itlos) to resolve the
dispute. It also echoed Biazon’s stand that Malacañang should drop
plans to buy warships and aircraft and instead pursue the case before
the UN body.
The Unclos is signed by 152 nations, including China and the
Philippines. The former, however, refuses to recognize the latter’s
sovereignty over territories in the West Philippine Sea that are within
the country’s 370-kilometer exclusive economic zone, insisting instead
that these islands are included in Chinese territory. The Beijing
government does not want international arbitration to settle the
dispute, but is pushing bilateral talks with the Philippines, as well as
with other countries also claiming ownership over West Philippine Sea
territories.
Pamalakaya also said Malacañang should explore the options provided
for in the Code of Conduct on Responsible Fishing of the Alliance of
South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).....
MORE
Source: Bulatlat.com
URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2012/08/02/sending-un-peacekeeping-forces-to-spratlys-dangerous-%E2%80%93-fisherfolk-group/
The
Cambodian ambassador to the Philippines was summoned by the Department
of Foreign Affairs but he snubbed the DFA summons and sent his deputy
instead, who was handed a note verbale.
S
