Backchannel efforts are under way between Manila and Beijing to find a way to resolve the territorial dispute in the South China Sea, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr has said ahead of his keynote speech at Asia’s top defence summit held in Singapore.
“You should try everything. You don’t know what effort is going to be successful,” he said on Wednesday in Brunei, en route to Singapore where he is expected to speak at the Shangri-La Dialogue about the Philippines’ efforts to resolve the maritime gridlock with China.
In Singapore, Marcos Jnr and Philippine defence officials will be in close physical proximity to Chinese military officials, who ordered blockades and the use of water cannons against Philippine vessels in a months-long row in the contested waterway.
“Any point of contact that I can establish, I will use it, and at every level, as long as it brings us progress in terms of resolving these [issues],” Marcos Jnr said.
Philippines’ President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr and Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah review an honour guard in Bandar Seri Begawan on Tuesday. Photo: AFP
The Philippines and China have been engaged in a war of words in recent weeks, with Beijing accusing Manila of reneging on a “new model” for handling resupply missions to the now-infamous Philippine naval vessel BRP Sierra Madre that was intentionally run aground at Second Thomas Shoal in the disputed South China Sea.
Under the supposed model, Manila would only deploy one coastguard vessel and a resupply boat to the shoal, while China would only launch one coastguard ship and a fishing boat.
Marcos Jnr and Philippine defence and military officials have denied agreeing to such an arrangement.
Marcos said in Brunei that he was open to negotiating with China on putting an end to “aggressive actions” such as water cannons and lasers and allowing Filipino fishermen to fish safely again.
China’s recent imposition of a four-month unilateral fishing ban in the South China Sea, which encroached on the Philippines’ maritime territory, was “very worrisome” and an “escalation of the situation”, Marcos Jnr said.
He also noted the summit’s focus on the West Philippine Sea and its importance to global trade, saying his invitation to give the keynote speech was a “recognition of challenges facing the Philippines”.
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Philippine admiral at centre of ‘new deal’ saga breaks silence on alleged South China Sea pact
Philippine admiral at centre of ‘new deal’ saga breaks silence on alleged South China Sea pact
See Seng Tan, a research adviser at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said the summit is likely to address global security issues such the Israel-Gaza war, the Ukraine war and South China Sea issues.
“Any reference on the part of Marcos Jnr [about] … the simmering tensions over the Second Thomas Shoal, and his rejection of Beijing’s claim about a 2016 agreement allegedly struck with Manila over access to the South China Sea islands, is likely to invite pushback from the Chinese, who have accused Manila and Washington of joining forces against Beijing.”
He pointed out that China’s new defence minister Dong Jun, a former navy chief with leadership experience in the Southern Theatre Command that oversees the South China Sea, will make his debut with an international audience during the summit and is expected to meet US defence chief Lloyd Austin.
The dialogue will continue until Sunday and cover topics such as China’s approach to global security, the US’ partnerships in the Indo-Pacific, maritime law enforcement, crisis management and cooperative security in the Asia-Pacific.
