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Del Rosario: PH must begin 'good faith discussions' with China

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Trishia Billones, ABS-CBN News

Philippines must now begin &#x27;good faith discussions&#x27; with China for a peaceful resolution to the maritime row, said former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario.Speaking on ANC&#x27;s Headstart with Karen Davila Monday, del Rosario said the verdict from the Permanent Court of Arbitration is clear, and Manila must now &quot;try to begin the process of looking for a lasting solution here.&quot;&quot;I suggest, very humbly—I don’t want to preempt the planning of the new administration we have great respect for—I think what we ought to be doing is begin good faith discussions,&quot; he said.These discussions could be followed by negotiations &quot;with the hope that we can come up with a lasting solution that’s in accordance with the ruling,&quot; he added.He said he believes this is already being implemented by the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.&quot;We should actually be rallying behind the President to make sure that there is a peaceful solution to this case,&quot; he said.These discussions, however, would come hand-in-hand with the support from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the &quot;responsible community of nations.&quot;&quot;They have supported us and we should be grateful for that, but we should continue to ask them to support us. Because the rule of law is something that they may try to promote for us. Following the rulings that have been handed down, the world needs to hear this,&quot; he said.One starting point for discussion with China is crafting regulations on Scarborough Shoal &quot;because the only declaration that was made by the arbitral tribunal is that everyone is allowed to fish there,&quot; said Del Rosario.<div>REED BANK</div>Though he believes the nullification of China&#x27;s economic claims over the disputed territories was the &quot;largest victory,&quot; del Rosario said it is just as important to enhance the Reed Bank, which has been declared to be within the Philippines&#x27; exclusive economic zone (EEZ).Del Rosario recalled that the Reed Bank was &quot;real point of vulnerability&quot; when they filed the case because of the 0.5-square kilometer Itu Aba or the Taiping Island, which was viewed by many as an island.If it were an island, it would project another 200 nautical miles of EEZ for Taiwan which would intersect with the Philippines&#x27; EEZ where the Reed Bank is located.&quot;We can’t do anything with it because it’s disputed. The most that we can do is enter into development arrangement with China since this is disputed,&quot; he explained.However, the Philippine team argued that it was not an island, as Taiwanese official records indicate studies and research on Itu Aba, where &quot;they ascertained that it cannot maintain human habitation because it does not have portable water.&quot;It was then declared as a rock, hence, there is no overlap of EEZs in the Reed Bank&#x27;s vicinity, making it officially the Philippines&#x27;.Its development may however prove to be tricky.&quot;I understand that Malampaya which supplies about 40% of power in the Luzon grid. It’s only good for the next ten years and it takes about ten years to make this thing going. So I think we should do something now,&quot; he said.Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio has said the Constitution <a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/14/16/carpio-nixes-joint-development-with-china">prohibits</a> the Duterte administration from inking a joint development in the Reed Bank with another state like China, and Del Rosario echoed that &quot;the ideal situation would be using the Malampaya model, where the foreigner is a contractor to our development project.&quot;

Manila must now begin 'good faith discussions' with Beijing for a peaceful resolution to the maritime row, said former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario.

Del Rosario: PH must begin 'good faith discussions' with China

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Del Rosario: PH must begin 'good faith discussions' with China

Trishia Billones,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jul 18, 2016 03:31 PM PHT

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