(Reuters) — The Philippines had not sought support from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) or the international community in its arbitration case against Beijing over the South China Sea Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay said on Wednesday (July 27) in Manila as he met U.S. Foreign Secretary John Kerry.
“The case we filed before the arbitral tribunal with respect to our dispute with China, concerns China and the Philippines alone, and resolving this dispute within the context of UNCLOS is a matter for China and the Philippines to resolve,” Yasay told a news conference, saying the arbitral case was not the reason of their meeting in ASEAN.
The Philippines however “vigourously pushed” for the inclusion of the arbitration ruling in the ASEAN joint statement but its failure to secure that was no diplomatic win for China he added.
Yasay was speaking after returning from Vientiane, during which ASEAN dropped a U.S.-backed proposal to mention the landmark July 12 court ruling, which nullified Beijing’s claims to most of the South China Sea.
The Philippines and Vietnam both wanted the ruling and a call to respect international maritime law to feature in the communique, but Cambodia rejected the wording on the ruling, diplomats said, backing instead China’s call for bilateral discussions.
Manila backed down to prevent the disagreement leading to the group failing to issue a joint statement after a meeting for only the second time in its 49-year history. Yasay said the Philippines did not want to gloat over the win, or rock the boat with ASEAN.
Manila are now working towards opening a channel towards discussions with China.
“I have been informed about the designation of former President Fidel V. Ramos, who reportedly accepted the assignment to engage China in bilateral talks with respect to this issue. we would hope that this would be pursued as soon as possible and that we are hoping that China will come up with a position that would allow with this bilateral talks to proceed,” he said.
Yasay added he hoped the dispute between the two countries could be resolved within the context of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) which both countries are signatories to.
Kerry will later meet with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and will discuss how to move ahead following the ruling, a U.S. official said.