THE United Nations arbitral award on the Philippines must be part of the Code of Conduct (COC) framework that the Southeast Asian countries have been working with China, former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said Wednesday.
Del Rosario, in a forum in Makati City on the first year anniversary of the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) ruling on the Philippine-China territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea, urged President Rodrigo Duterte as chairman of Asean this year to take the opportunity to steer the discussions on the COC to "ensure that it is effective, binding and quickly concluded."
"Leadership creates opportunities, not shortcomings... we believe that the Arbitral ruling should be an integral part of the Code of Conduct framework being finalized and the eventual Code of Conduct if it is concluded," he said.
He said the Philippine leadership should be categorical on protecting the country's sovereignty and national patrimony.
"We cannot trade away our sovereignty or sovereign rights, and we should not give even the impression that we are willing to do so," he said.
The Philippines should also exhaust all diplomatic avenues that are available to in promoting the ruling and the rule of international law, he said.
"We must protect what is unlawful, coercive and contrary to the correct principles that govern relations between states. We should seek cooperation from like-minded states. We should be ready to approach the UN General Assembly to appeal to the global village of nations," said Del Rosario, who was then the country's top diplomat when the Philippines questioned before the PCA China's sovereign claim in almost whole of the South China Sea even if it overlaps on the exclusive economic zones of other countries, like the Philippines.
"Any suggestion of war should be shunned. Instead, we should exhaust our diplomacy by protesting the threat of war, however unlikely it may be in actuality. We cannot allow others to play with the threat of war when our submitted disputes have already been clarified in the ruling," he said.
In April when Duterte first hosted the Asean summit, he refused to raise the arbitral ruling. He would again host the summit in November this year.
This time, Del Rosario hoped that Duterte would act on the arbitral ruling.
Contrary to his predecessor, Duterte has been taking a soft stance in as far as the territorial dispute with China is concerned.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), in a statement on the one-year anniversary of the PCA ruling, said the Duterte administration reaffirms its unwavering commitment to protect the country's territorial claims and maritime entitlements.
However, it said the government believes that the ongoing territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea should further be resolved in a manner consistent with "the spirit of good neighbourly relations".
"President Duterte's priority of regional peace and stability has led to the healthy environment of dialogue, cooperation, and development," the DFA said. (SDR/VoxPop Philippines)