By Jil Danielle M. Caro

THE DEPARTMENT of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday the Philippines “shall remain an enemy to none and a friend to all in its pursuit of economic and political benefits for the country,” one year after the Hague ruling upholding the country’s arbitral case against China in the disputed West Philippine Sea.

“[T]he Duterte administration is committed to its strategy to strengthen old allies and engage new partner nations,” the DFA said in a statement on Wednesday, July 12, a full year after the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague ruled in the Philippines’ favor on the arbitral case against China brought by the previous administration of Benigno S. C. Aquino III.

The DFA said President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s administration “reaffirms its unwavering commitment to protect our country’s territorial claims and maritime entitlements.”

However, the administration “believes that the ongoing territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea should further be resolved in a manner consistent with the spirit of good neighborly relations,” the DFA added.

Further, the department cited “President Duterte’s priority of regional peace and stability (which) has led to the healthy environment of dialogue, cooperation, and development.”

According to the DFA, the country’s approach “has led to great benefits for the country, allowing us considerable economic gains, as well as strengthening our status as ASEAN chair and regional peacemaker.” The Philippines leads this year’s meetings among the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The DFA said that with the country’s “adoption of positive neighborly relations, our fishermen are back exercising their livelihood in Scarborough Shoal.”

“We have received investment and financial assistance commitments upwards of $30 billion our partners in the region,” DFA said, adding, “These significant developments have likewise allowed our defense resources to also address other pressing security concerns facing the country.”

“The bold initiatives of the administration in pursuing an independent foreign policy have become a game changer not only in the geopolitical landscape in the region but more importantly in the lives of our people,” the DFA also said.

‘EFFECT OF THE AWARD WEAKENS’
Sought for comment, Herman Joseph S. Kraft, associate professor at the Department of Political Science, University of the Philippines, said in a phone interview:

“It’s true. We have been receiving benefits from our ties with China. It is true that those benefits tie in with the priorities in diplomacy of the Duterte administration. The priorities have always been expressed in terms of economic benefits, that is what is being emphasized. There is no question about that.”

Mr. Kraft noted, however, that the political impact of the country’s relationship with China, other than its evident economic impact, should be identified.

“What is its political impact? As time goes by, between the assertion and the awarding, and until the implementation of the award, it seems that the effect of the award weakens in terms of how should we use it,” he said.

Mr. Kraft added that “it seems we just gave up,” but explained further, “I won’t say it’s alarming in a sense that we should be afraid already. Let’s just say, it’s disappointing that there’s little appreciation of the implications of the arbitral decision.”

Also sought for comment, Mr. Ramon C. Casiple, executive director at the Institute for Political and Electoral Reform (IPER), said via e-mail that he thinks the DFA’s statement “does not propose to be passive in relation to our claims in the SCS (South China Sea) or in relation to China’s own claims.”

“Nor does it means passivity in pursuing our own claims. It simply means that the Duterte administration has decided on a strategy to pursue these claims within the framework of our independent foreign policy,” he added.

‘NEGATIVE LESSON’
Mr. Casiple also noted that Mr. Duterte, in his past statements, has only said he “will use the arbitral ruling as one of the bases of our negotiating position,” adding, “what it will not do is to just insist on the ruling on a take or leave basis since this is not conducive to negotiations (the Chinese side has time and again also reiterated its nonrecognition of the arbitral ruling).”

“If “passivity” means not undertaking military and political offensives against China, there is no justification for these at this time when one is negotiating, nor do we have the capability to force our position on the Chinese government,” Mr. Caspiple said.

He added, “The Duterte administration, I think, learned the negative lesson of the loss of the Panatag Shoal by the Aquino administration which insisted on a confrontational strategy with no realistic support from its allies, including the US.”

For his part, Mr. Duterte said on Wednesday, addressing the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology on the occasion of its 26th anniversary: “You know, I come from an agricultural region sa Mindanao. ’Yung mga pineapple, banana, hindi na nabibili (The pineapple and banana [we produce] are no longer being bought), because China refused the importation…. So I changed a little bit. So I started to — not really separate. Because we have this RP-US pact. So I could not enter into any other military alliances, that would be a violation of the treaty.”

“But on economic and terrorism, …I can always go to other nations for help,” he added.

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