The Philippines will always resort to seeking diplomatic and peaceful solution, particularly on matters concerning the recent Ayungin Shoal incident.
This was the observation made by an expert on International Maritime Law in a news forum in Quezon City on Saturday.
Atty. Jay Batongbacal of the UP College of Law-Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea explained that since the Philippines have a mandate under the Constitution to “renounce war as a means to national policy, our first recourse will always be to seek a peaceful diplomatic solution.”
“So, that is why it is not easy for the Philippines to just simply react to every incident as if it is an act of war and warrants full scale hostilities. And I think it is in that context that we should now view developments over the past week, and particularly the statements issued by the government last night,” Batongbacal said.
“So kumbaga kalma lang, keri lang and we shall see how we’re going to take the next step to ensure that we pursue our interest peacefully and avoid a full scale… or a worst, rather worst incidents in our country,” he added.
On questions whether the Ayungin Shoal incident will be considered an act of war, Batongbacal said that not “every unlawful act of a state is necessarily what we call a ‘casus belli’ or an act of war and the start of hostilities between states”, considering there are rules to take into consideration.”
“There are, in international law, there are rules and jurisprudence on this issue particularly in International Humanitarian Law and the laws of armed conflict. And in those rules or laws, incidents such as skirmishes, isolated skirmishes ‘no, geographically-isolated skirmishes may be considered as what legally might be classified as ‘frontier incidents’,” Batongbacal explained.
“These are not yet enough to be considered as an armed attack that warrants the engagement in self-defense or the right of self-defense and collective self-defense, also under the UN charter. And the intention here is to give space also for diplomatic resolution of the disputes between states which have the skirmishes,” he added.
Although, he clarified that the unlawful use of force against the Philippines, particularly against Philippine troops and its sovereign vessel is a major cause of concern, noting that it is a violation of the principles of United Nations charter and international law.
However, the Philippines is still willing to work with China to resolve the said dispute, as stated by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin in a Oalace briefing on Friday. Bersamin said the incident will not be elevated to a higher international body.
“That’s not yet in consideration because I think this is a matter that can easily be resolved very soon by us. And if China wants to work with us, we can work with China,” Bersamin said. | PND
