Permanent Representative to ASEAN H.E. Elizabeth P. Buensuceso speaks at the Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club
Philippine Permanent Representative to ASEAN Ambassador Elizabeth P Buensuceso spoke on 02 August at the Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club in a forum attended by local and foreign journalists , think tanks and members of the diplomatic corps. Other speakers during the forum included Vice Minister Arif Havas Oegroseno, Maritime Sovereignty Deputy of Indonesia’s Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs, Ambassador Nina Hachigian of the US Mission to ASEAN, Prof. Dr. Hasyim Djalal, and Mr. Phillips J. Vermonte, Executive Director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies-Indonesia.
In her speech, Ambassador Buensuceso outlined the history of the arbitration case initiated by the Philippines , mentioned the highlights of the ruling and gave glimpses of what the ruling means to the ordinary Filipino and to the leaders and diplomats of the Philippines. She also clarified misleading news reports surrounding the Joint Communiqué of the 49th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting held in Vientiane recently.
Ambassador Buensuceso recounted anecdotes of how ordinary Filipinos reacted to the announcement of the ruling on that fateful day of 12 July 2016 , at around 5 pm, Manila time when the five judges of the Arbitral Tribunal constituted under Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), finally rendered their much anticipated judgment in a unanimous award in favor of the Philippines. Pandemonium and jubilation broke in many a Philippine home and office ; students and activists took to the streets, wept openly and hugged each other and proudly displayed Philippine flags, she recalled. It was like Manny Pacquiao winning over Floyd Mayweather 100 times over, she said, to the delight of the audience. Filipinos expressed their thanks to the Philippine legal and diplomatic team headed by former Secretary Albert del Rosario and Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio. The palpable jubilation felt like Christmas in July , Ambassador Buensuceso enthused.
Ambassador Buensuceso reasoned that there was enough cause for jubilation. The five judges , reputed to be of impeccable integrity and profound experience on the subject matter, voted unanimously and overwhelmingly, 14.5 , out of the 15 submissions that the Philippines brought before the tribunal, she said, basically rejecting China’s claim to the nine-dash line and declaring her activities in the area unlawful.
However, she said, the leaders of the Philippines viewed the situation with more sobriety and self-control knowing that t it would not be easy for China to accept the ruling, as it has repeatedly rejected the legality of the tribunal, much less its judgment. President Rodrigo Duterte and Secretary Yasay chose not to “gloat and flaunt”, she said. The Ambassador lamented the statements emanating from Beijing which only incense the nationalistic sentiments of people and do not support the stature of a rising power in the world and one that has vowed to abide by and adhere to the principles of UNCLOS having been one of its avid supporters during the convention’s protracted negotiations and which it ratified.
Ambassador Buensuceso cited the positive assessment of the implications of the ruling for the claimant countries, ASEAN and the world as a whole made by various experts of international maritime law including Dr. Oegrosono, Dr. Robert Beckman, Dr. Justin Nankivell, Dr. Jay Batongbacal , Dr. Ian Storey , Dr. Tang Siew Mun , Dr. Dewi Fortuna Anwar, Mr. Shahriman Lockman and Dr. Le Long Hiep.
Ambassador Buensuceso also clarified many news reports that tended to misinterpret the events surrounding the Joint Communique of the 49th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting held in Vientiane on
The envoy said that the JC has 192 paragraphs, containing important decisions on ASEAN cooperation in the areas of connectivity, biodiversity, human rights, peace and reconciliation, women and children empowerment, countering violent extremism, trade and investment liberalization, disaster management and many others close to the heart of ASEAN and its external partners. Out of this, 9 paragraphs concern the South China Sea, the most important of which is para 2, which states that :
“We reaffirm our shared commitment to maintaining and promoting peace, security and stability in the region, as well as to the peaceful resolution of disputes, including full respect for legal and diplomatic processes, without resorting to the threat or use of force, in accordance with the universally recognised principles of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
She explained that while the Philippines proposed many times reference to the arbitral award in the AMM Joint Communique, all the various formulations put forward in the long and protracted drafting negotiations were rejected by one member state without explanation or compromise text. In the end, to avoid a repeat of the 2012 incident when the JC was not issued altogether, the Lao Chair proposed to move the para with the phrase “full respect for legal and diplomatic processes” to the top section of the Communiqué under the heading “ASEAN Community Building” and asked that the direct reference to the tribunal ruling be dropped, which was agreed to by all .
Ambassador Buensuceso explained that moving the reference to the principle of “full respect of legal and diplomatic processes” under the heading of “ASEAN Community Building” is in fact a significant decision by ASEAN because it enshrines the said principle as a core value of ASEAN community building efforts and incorporates the use of arbitration as a process to resolve disputes.
She told the audience that recent criticisms which have been levelled against the Philippines for having “dropped the ball” in Vientiane are unfair and unfounded . Instead of being vilified, the Philippines should be congratulated and thanked for having stood on a moral high ground to preserve the unity of ASEAN, while fighting for the retention of the core principle of respect for legal and diplomatic processes. We have won, for ASEAN and the rest of the world, a victory championing the rule of law, which is now enshrined as an important contribution to international maritime law jurisprudence, the Ambassador said.
Speakers at the JFCC Forum from left to right Mr. Phillips J. Vermonte - Executive Director of Center for Strategic and International Studies, Prof. Dr. Hashim Djalal, Amb. Arif Havas Oegroseno - Maritime Sovereignty Deputy of Indonesia's Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs, Amb. Nina Hachigian – U.S. Mission to ASEAN, and Amb. Elizabeth Buensuceso.
Finally, Ambassador Buensuceso spoke of the way forward as announced by President Duterte, allowing cooler heads to prevail and giving time and space for negotiators to find a peaceful settlement of this matter through bilateral negotiations but using the ruling and constitutional provisions to guide the discussions. She asked that all concerned should refrain from undertaking activities that raise tensions and exacerbate the already inflammable situation to avoid violence and bloodshed. She said that ASEAN and China must work hard to fully implement the DOC and work expeditiously to conclude a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.
She enjoined the audience as equal stakeholders in the peace and stability of the region to give this process a shot so as to ensure for our children and children’s children the ASEAN vision for a peaceful, stable and resilient Community.
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