MANILA: Japan backed yesterday the Philippine initiative for arbitration proceedings to clarify maritime zones and entitlements in the South China Sea.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made the commitment to Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario during a courtesy call at the Kantei (Prime Minister’s Office) in Tokyo.
“Along these lines, Prime Minister Abe manifested the Japanese government’s support for the Philippines’ initiation of arbitration proceedings last January, pursuant to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to clarify maritime zones and entitlements in the South China Sea,” DFA said.
Japan also pledged continued support for the Philippines’ capability-building in maritime security, the DFA added.
The DFA said Abe and Del Rosario discussed the regional situation and the particular maritime security challenges that the Philippines and Japan are confronting.
Being two important island nations in the Asia-Pacific, the two countries share the advocacy of promoting the rule of law, the DFA added.
Del Rosario told Abe the crucial role of international law is attaining a durable resolution to international disputes based on a level playing field.
He briefed Abe on the Philippines’ parallel pursuit of diplomatic and political avenues to address maritime concerns.
Abe and Del Rosario welcomed this year’s commemoration of the 40th Anniversary of Asean-Japan Friendship and Cooperation.
They also exchanged views on other regional matters, including the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.
Del Rosario was invited to address the annual Nikkei International Conference on the Future of Asia. He concluded his two-day visit to Tokyo yesterday.
The DFA said Del Rosario also met Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, Japan International Cooperation Agency Vice President Hiroto Arakawa and Representative Katsuyuki Kawai, Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of Japan’s House of Representatives.
Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio believes the Philippine attempt to take the territorial dispute with China in the West Philippine Sea to an arbitral tribunal under the UNCLOS may be futile.
Speaking before law graduates of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila lon May 18, Carpio said should the UNCLOS decide in favor of either party, the Philippines is at a disadvantage because China has the naval might to enforce a favorable decision.
“The Philippines does not have the naval might to compel China to comply with any decision of the arbitral tribunal,” he said.
The South China Sea — a strategic waterway where a bulk of the world’s trade pass — had been a source of conflict among competing claimants the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, China and Taiwan.
Claimed by China nearly in its entirety, the sea is dotted with islands, reefs, cays, shoals and rock formations and is believed to be rich in natural gas and oil deposits.
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