Cold shoulder

FOR now,  Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario admits that resolving the case with China over the disputed South China Sea (West Philippines Sea) is far from reality.
China’s refusal to at least recognize the problems, makes it also difficult for other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)—who are also entangled with China in other parts of the South China Sea—to resolve the dispute.
“You can’t solve a problem [if] you don’t recognize that there is one,” the del Rosario stressed.
Del Rosario said that China continues to play deaf and blind to the apparent problem in the South China Sea despite growing clamor from ASEAN to come up with a constructive solution.
In the recent ASEAN Minister Meeting, China rejected the Philippines’ “Triple Action Plan” (TAP) containing three approaches that would compromise the tension caused by maritime disputes and overlapping claims in the oil and gas resources rich region.
“They should study it before they reject it. If they reject it without studying it, then it looks like China does not recognize that the developments in the South China Sea are creating problems for everyone,” del Rosario expressed over China’s opposition to TAP.
“If something comes to you then you oppose it, it means you’re prejudiced. We don’t want them to take a prejudiced view of this. We want them to take an objective, constructive viewpoint,” he added.
The foreign secretary justified that other ASEAN countries have proposals for the Philippines. “There were strong voices in favor of this. Everyone agreed that there was a problem [and] we needed to come up with a solution to it. People in ASEAN understood that we needed to do something.”
Clearly, there is something wrong with how the parties involved are managing the situation: different views, different approaches.
Years after the”Scarborough Shoal Standoff,” efforts of resolving the matter have only worsen the relationship of the two countries.
Philippines is not the only Asian country butting heads with China—neighboring Vietnam, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei also have their own disputes.
US, though not in a territorial conflict with China, has been dragged in the talks as well. Through Secretary of State John Kerry, The United States  has tried to help ASEAN countries by pushing a multilateral agreement to end all actions that risk further inflaming regional sensitivities.
Unfortunately, this effort was snubbed.
China should be tamed. This struggle for sovereignty is slowly draining Philippine resources.
ASEAN leaders must take over the situation with a more stern stance. Concrete plans and back up disciplinary actions to countries who will not follow the agreement should be implemented.
(AJPress)