The Vatican on Tuesday (2) called for a peaceful resolution of conflicts, including tensions between the Philippines and China, as the two nations work to manage their dispute in the South China Sea.
In the first visit to Manila by a Vatican foreign minister in 75 years of relations between the Holy See and the majority-Catholic country, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher said every effort must be made to resolve any differences peacefully.
“We encourage the parties to the conflict to respect international law,” Gallagher told reporters during a joint meeting with the Philippines’ foreign minister.
Gallagher’s visit comes as talks are underway between Manila and Beijing to manage tensions in the South China Sea, which Philippine Foreign Minister Enrique Manalo said he hoped would result in confidence-building measures to manage tensions.
Manila is hosting the latest round of talks between the two countries under their bilateral consultation mechanism, a format to specifically address disputes in the South China Sea.
China and the Philippines have recently accused each other of escalating tensions, including an incident last month that seriously injured a Philippine navy sailor.
Philippine Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, the Navy’s spokesman for South China Sea affairs, said at a briefing that the Chinese Coast Guard’s actions against Philippine vessels conducting a routine replenishment mission at Second Thomas Shoal were the “most aggressive” in recent history.
Trinidad described the Chinese Coast Guard maneuvers as “deliberate, planned and escalating.”
A Philippine sailor suffered serious injuries after what his military described as an “intentional high-speed ramming” by the Chinese Coast Guard on June 17 during a resupply mission for troops stationed at Second Thomas Shoal.
China disputed the Philippines’ version of events, saying its coast guard’s actions were lawful and beyond reproach. There was no immediate comment from the Chinese Embassy in Manila on Trinidad’s remarks.
“It was the most aggressive action ever conducted by Chinese communist party aggression agents in the South China Sea,” Trinidad told reporters, referring to the June 17 incident.
The Philippines sent missions to resupply soldiers living aboard a rusting, aging warship deliberately beached by Manila in 1999 on the atoll to bolster its sovereignty claims.
China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, including parts claimed by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 said China’s claims had no legal basis.
Manila has sought broader international support for its maritime claims, seeking closer ties with countries to defend a rules-based order that recognizes international law.
Source: CNN Brasil
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