Is Duterte ruining The Hague’s success to impress Beijing? | News of South China Sea

In the days leading up to the fifth festival on Monday in The Hague a 2016 ruling that rejected what Chinese history has said in the disputed South China Sea, Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teodoro Locsin Jr. it sounded celebratory, praising the event “as a special event in international law”.

“The Philippines is proud to have contributed to international law,” he said, adding that Manila’s actions against Beijing in the Supreme Court of Arbitration.

In a survey in China, Locsin said the election “was marred by some of the ninth line; and every expectation that a person has one-tenth of the law. ”

Locsin also cited video footage of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte at the UN General Assembly, in which the Philippine president said the case was now “impossible to persuade and cannot move passing governments to reduce, reduce or eliminate”.

But since taking office in 2016, Duterte has often been pessimistic – failing to challenge China’s efforts to increase maritime domination in the region despite significant success – and foreign experts say his “conquering ideology” has undermined the country’s credibility and weakened its legitimacy.

“Manila did not have the opportunity to present a common ground on what he said … what Beijing saw as an opportunity to exchange and build a large naval base on the coast with the navy to help,” said Chester Cabalza, President and founder of Manila -based tank think tank International Development and Security Cooperation.

“On the contrary, the people of the Philippines have heard of the defeat from the prime minister as they continue to travel to China in the Philippine economy (EEZ),” he told Al Jazeera.

Collin Koh, a researcher at the Institute of Defense and Strategic Study in Singapore, said Duterte officials “squandered that opportunity” by highlighting the need for elections “whether to be held independently or in collaboration with foreign parties” such as the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) and United States.

‘A Great Day’

It was in July 2016, less than two weeks after he entered the Dhutte leadership that the Hague tribunal concluded, according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), that China also said that human rights within the “ninth line” and navigation in many parts of the South China Sea “were” unacceptable “..

The ruling also confirmed that the Philippines has an economic power base (EEZ), located 370 miles[370 km]off the coast. As such, China’s fishing and construction activities in the region are considered a violation of the Philippine sovereignty. The Philippines refers to the same area as the West Philippine Sea.

In addition, the court ruled that of all South China Sea disputes – even those controlled by Beijing – none are considered “permanent” and could regulate economic activities as before, and therefore did not qualify for EEZ – hence the Philippines EEZ.

In commemoration of the ruling this year, Philippine Senator Risa Hontiveros has suggested that the country declare July 12 as West Coast Day.

In a message sent to Al Jazeera, he said the recipient of Duterte, Benigno Aquino III – who died last month – should also be commended for choosing to take China and have a “legal victory”.

“Even when the Philippines was fighting Goliath the Chinese, he was just following the case by saying it was the right thing to do.”

Demonstrations are also expected on Monday outside the Chinese embassy in Manila.

China has repeatedly said it does not recognize the 2016 ruling, and has done so continued to expand its production islands on the Mischief Reef, as well as on the Scarborough Shoal, which Manila lost to Beijing in 2012.

Duterte’s gambling

In a bid for the 2016 presidential campaign, Duterte attracted voters with his strong views on China. At one meeting, he pledged to go skiing in the South China Sea and fight China’s invasion of Philippine waters. He said he always wanted to die a hero.

But as soon as he became president, Duterte began to keep his promises, saying that the Philippines would not be able to take over China because the conflict only leads to bloodshed.

Interview with Al Jazeera in October 2016, Duterte also claimed that his words “sketti” were exaggerated and that he did not know how to swim. He later said it was all a “joke” to show “his bravery”, and that only “stupid” would believe it.

In a bizarre acknowledgment in June 2019, Duterte said he had made an oral agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2016 to allow China to fish in the EEZ of the Philippines, despite a legal requirement for the government to protect its marine resources, including EEZ, and “Save its work and happiness only to Filipino citizens “.

In recent months, Chinese ships, believed to be under Chinese military control, have been spotted in the South China Sea inside the EEZ in the Philippines. [File: Philippine Coast Guard/Handout via Reuters]

“We agreed,” Duterte explained. “Let us give ourselves to one another. You fish there, I fish here too. ”

In a number of public statements, Duterte emphasized that good relations with China have brought economic benefits to the Philippines, through direct adjustments, financial assistance and loans.

Salvador Panelo, a spokesman for Duterte at the time, defended the deal, saying that although it was “verbal” it was “legal and binding”.

But Panel’s successor, Harry Roque, said in April that “there was no truth” in the deal and that it was “just speculation”.

“There is no such agreement or agreement that exists between the Philippines and China,” Roque said, noting that even a fishing agreement “can only take place without an agreement” and a “document”.

‘Abundance’

In the wake of the Duterte intervention in power, the South China Sea event reached its climax earlier this year, with several reports revealing that Hundreds of Chinese ships assembled inside the Philippines EEZ.

“More and more” has been repeated several times, leading to several Manila-led protests, criticizing Beijing’s “disregard” for its commitment to “promoting peace and order in the region”.

In May, the discovery of hundreds of Chinese ships angered Locsin, the Philippine prime minister, so much so that he made derogatory remarks on television.

“China, friend, how can I put it politely? Let me see… O… GIVE IT F ***, ”Locsin wrote on Twitter.

According to reports, Manila hosted more than 120 demonstrations in China on what happened in the waters of the conflict since 2016.

In the last two and a half months, the Philippines has increased its control over the South China Sea more than anything else in recent years. AMTI looks at their experiences and encounters with Chinese ships in a new way: https://t.co/MsEEx0IpLs pic.twitter.com/tN91IqP2C7

– AMTI (@AsiaMTI) July 4, 2021

However, Duterte remained keen to meet China.

In recent months, he has said he wants to continue to engage with China, citing Manila’s “grateful debt” for Beijing’s support of the coronavirus vaccine. He has also barred his minister from talking about the South China Sea, with security officials and diplomats criticizing China for its plight.

But despite Duterte’s efforts to stay close to Beijing, observers say China has only increased “resilience”, and the growing crisis has now left Manila with no choice but to step up its efforts to secure its rightful place in the South China Sea.

Cabalza, a security analyst in Manila, said this was not the time for Duterte’s “foreign policy”, and promoted a “straightforward” approach that equates the country’s economy with security.

“China’s military prowess and fraud should not be taken lightly.”

He urged the Philippines to “speed up” its modern-day war program “to increase access to air and sea” and to curb China’s travel.

“If Manila can think critically and fearlessly with Beijing, he must strengthen a strong international security force that is aligned with China’s best practices and more information,” he said, adding that Manila must continue to hold regular protests.

South China Sea ‘made an agreement’

Koh, an external researcher from the S Rajaratnam School of International Study in Singapore, also described how the Philippines has lain for years “building a staff” based on the military’s ability to make “the strongest” sailors within the EEZ.

This could have been said by Manila if Duterte had not tried at all to break his alliance with the US, Koh said. From the beginning of his presidency, Duterte has ridiculed the United States, even though he has said without evidence that he could be a CIA target.

“Explaining the willingness to prioritize relations with Beijing – despite the benefits of the 2016 prize, the lack of political will to maintain its maritime presence and cooperation with the US would strengthen Beijing,” he said. explained Al Jazeera.

With China’s progress in strengthening its production islands in the South China Sea, it “would not be possible at all” to “allow the evacuation” within the Philippine EEZ, Koh said.

“There is no way to compensate without removing the Chinese people from power by force, which would mean war.”

Without the use of weapons, it is still possible for the Philippines to regain its maritime rights and freedoms by “permanent stability” in this regard, Koh added.

He also said the Philippines should adhere to the rules and regulations of the EEZ.

“The recent crisis in the Guardian Coast Guard and the depletion of Chinese and foreign ships in the Philippines EEZ, around Sabina Shoal and Marie Louise Bank, is a good example,” Koh said.

“This may not force China to change what has happened in the South China Sea, but it could prevent Beijing from considering a number of developments that could affect what is happening.”

In May, Chinese ships departed from the Sabina Shoal, Philippines after a radio broadcast.

Hontiveros, a senator who opposes and opposes Duterte’s policies in the South China Sea, said the radio crisis showed that “the Philippines can prove that we are in the West Philippine Sea without using war.”

As a middle-class force that has been at loggerheads between China and the United States, the study in Manila is based on foreign policy, according to Cabalza, a foreign expert who also studied at the National Defense University in Beijing.

“Manila has to decide for the good of his country. It takes courage to rely on his own abilities and to build with a vision to protect the country’s sovereignty and loyalty. ”