After Celebrating South China Sea Win, Reality Sets In for the Philippines

Patrons at a restaurant in Makati, the Philippines, reacted to news of an international tribunal’s ruling against Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea. Credit

Dondi Tawatao/Getty Images

MANILA — At a Shakey’s restaurant in Manila this week, dozens of Filipinos — some with Philippine flags painted on their faces — wept with joy and cheered when a tribunal in The Hague announced that Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea were invalid. Around the country, others took to social media and bought rounds of drinks in celebration.

But in the aftermath of Tuesday’s ruling, which China has said it plans to ignore, a post-celebration hangover has set in, with the Philippine government taking a cautious approach in its response to China that has left some Filipinos grumbling that the government is raining on their parade.

The ruling delivered a sweeping victory to the Philippines. Not only was the “nine-dash line” that China used to claim most of the South China Sea invalidated, but the tribunal agreed with nearly every assertion made by the Philippines in the case.

The foreign affairs secretary of the Philippines, Perfecto Yasay Jr., appeared on live television shortly after the ruling was announced. With a somber expression, he said the tribunal’s judgment was welcome and that the government would study how best to respond. “In the meantime, we call on all those concerned to exercise restraint and sobriety,” he said.

Mr. Yasay’s measured comments were met with disappointment by the people gathered at Shakey’s.

“We were just dumbfounded,” recalled Carissa Villacorte, who attended the event. “He didn’t say the word ‘victory.’ He didn’t say the word ‘success.’ His statement was so soft and tempered. It was like a concession speech.”

On Twitter, one Filipino called Mr. Yasay “a party-pooper.”

The somber tone of the government response was by design, according to Chito Santa Romana, the president of the Philippine Association for Chinese Studies. Before the ruling, Rodrigo Duterte, the newly elected president of the Philippines, said that in the case of a positive outcome he would not “taunt or flaunt” the Chinese or the victory.

Mr. Duterte had joked on the campaign trail that he would retake the disputed islands of the South China Sea on a Jet Ski. But in more serious conversations, he has said that he wants to build better relations with China, but without sacrificing Philippine territorial claims.

“If Duterte approaches the Chinese and cites the ruling, that is a nonstarter,” Mr. Santa Romana said. “He doesn’t want to attack China with the ruling. He is setting the groundwork for talks that leave open the door for economic cooperation, to have the Chinese invest in infrastructure projects in the Philippines. That is the underlying calculation.”

The delicate balance between supporting the ruling without flaunting it or taunting China will begin immediately for Philippine diplomats. The Department of Foreign Affairs announced on Thursday that Mr. Yasay would bring up the topic during an Asia-Europe summit meeting, known as ASEM, in Mongolia on Friday and Saturday.

Mr. Yasay will “discuss within the context of ASEM’s agenda the Philippines’ peaceful and rules-based approach on the South China Sea and the need for parties to respect the recent decision of the arbitral tribunal,” the statement said.

Officials in Beijing said this week that the South China Sea dispute was an inappropriate issue to discuss at the meeting, which will be attended by China’s premier, Li Keqiang.

In a speech on Thursday night, Mr. Duterte announced that he would ask a former Philippine president, Fidel Ramos, to travel to China as a special envoy to open bilateral negotiations. Mr. Duterte did not say when Mr. Ramos might visit China.

The Philippine news channel ABS-CBN reported on Thursday that Filipino fishermen were still being blocked from fishing near Scarborough Shoal, according to a news crew that visited the area. The Chinese have occupied the shoal, which is about 120 nautical miles off the west coast of the Philippines, since 2012. The arbitration panel ruled on Tuesday that Chinese and Filipino fishermen both have traditional fishing rights to the area.

(Source : nytimes.com)

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