MANILA, Philippines – A Washington-based Filipino
organization urged on Saturday the United Nations (UN) to initiate a
convention of Southeast Asian Nations for multilateral talks to resolve
peacefully the Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal standoff between the
Philippines and China.
The Migrant Heritage Commission (MHC), in an e-mail to the
Philippines News Agency, said “the UN can offer its good offices for
mediation and conciliation among competing claims to avoid aggressive
escalation leading to armed confrontation.”
In the wake of the maritime dispute between China and the
Philippines at the Scarborough Shoal, the MHC said "it is best to ask
the United Nations to initiate a convention of Southeast Asian countries
for a multilateral talks to peacefully and diplomatically resolve the
political impasse on the shoal" which is part of the West Philippine Sea
(South China Sea).
At the same time, Arnedo Valera, one of three co-executive
directors of MHC, suggested that to avert any military conflict arising
from the Scarborough standoff, the Philippine government, through
President Benigno S. Aquino III, spearhead “the creation of the SREDC
(Spratly Resources Economic Development Commission) and also ask the
United Nations for mediation or arbitration on this matter."
Valera said that “the creation of SREDC can be an
effective mechanism to manage whatever potential resources in the area
that will be discovered and shared in a communal way by the competing
claimants. Any political posturing should not result in a zero-sum game
to a particular claimant country."
Valera, a UN Representative on Migration, Global Peace and
Security under the auspices of FSUN (Foundation for the Support of the
United Nations), said that “a multilateral talks with claimant countries
is the most appropriate thing to do.”
"Everyone must work for a peaceful resolution at the
Spratly islands that is economically beneficial to all claimants. The
ultimate goal must be stability in the region. The Spratly is like a
hallway in Southeast Asia and all competing claims be resolved in a
multilateral talks initiated by the UN," Valera added.
The MHC, a non-profit organization, provides services to immigrants in the United States.
The Spratly chain of islands is claimed in whole or in part by Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
“The Spratlys could not be claimed solely by one Southeast
Asian country because historically and naturally it has been used and
occupied by various countries,” MHC noted.
"The Asian region does not need any instability at this
time. Peaceful resolutions are still the best way to avert any untoward
war or brewing armed confrontation among and between claimants," said
Grace Valera-Jaramillo, a co-executive director of MHC.
Another MHC co-director, Jesse Gatchalian, said that “the
Philippines must articulate an independent foreign policy consistent
with its constitution and in line with the treaties it signed as a
non-aligned nation.”
MHC, however, said that any intrusion within the
boundaries of the Philippines should be denounced in the international
community as a hostile act and an act of aggression against a sovereign,
independent nation and must be condemned in the strongest possible
terms.
The Spratly group of islands is said to have potentially
213 billion barrels of oil beneath its seabed, making the region
oil-rich, second to Saudi Arabia.
“Any discovery of the existence of the rich underwater oil
fields and hydrocarbon resources in the area should benefit all the
claimants and the region. This is the time for China and the Philippines
to take the high moral ground and resolve this never-ending historical
claims peacefully and diplomatically,” the MHC press statement said.
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