Altering Staus Quo in West Philippine Sea

“We reject unilateral attempts to alter the realities on the ground, the air or the sea, foreign correspondents. We take no sides on regional territorial disputes but we do stand on our principles... consultations with neighbors, adherence to codes of conduct, respects for freedom of navigation - should be the byword of the 21st century...We believe that an agreement on a code of conduct is long overdue and the negotiating process should be accelerated.”

~ Philip Goldberg

US Ambassador Philip Goldberg

Philip Goldberg, US Ambassador to the Philippines warned against changing the status quo in the disputed South China Sea and other contested areas in the region and called on all rival nations to adhere to international law.

Defying China’s position against Washington’s involvement in the disputes, the Ambassador maintained that it is in America’s national interest to ensure free access to the resource-rich waters and that conflicts are resolved peacefully even though it is not a party to the disputes.

The US, along with other Western nations expressed alarm over China’s unilateral imposition of a fisheries regulation in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims nearly in its entirety, and an air defense zone in the neighboring East China Sea, where a group of islands is jointly disputed by China and Japan.

The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, China and Taiwan have competing claims over the South China Sea – the site of recent confrontations between Chinese military and civilian surveillance ships and vessels from the Philippines and Vietnam.

Many countries are worried that the conflicts could turn violent, even by accident, and result in a major armed conflict in Asia.

According to the US Ambassador, Washington strongly supports efforts including those of the Philippines – a key US military treaty ally in the region – “to resolve disputes and overlapping claims through diplomacy and recognized international legal processes.”

The US also supports efforts by the Association of South East Asian Nations, four members of which are involved in the territorial row, and China to craft a code, but lamented the very slow negotiations.