MHC reiterates stand on Sovereignty claims, economic development for Spratly and Sabah By Ben Cal MANILA, June 8 (PNA) – The Migrant Heritage Commission (MHC), a Filipino-run non-government organization based in Washington, DC, has reiterated its position for the Philippines not to limit itself with the international law of the seas in claiming its rights over the disputed Spratly group of islands in the West Philippine Sea. Atty. Arnedo Valera, MHC co-executive director and international/human rights lawyer, e-mailed to the Philippines News Agency on Saturday the press statement of the MHC regarding the matter. Valera said the MHC issued the statement in connection with the presentation of Henry Sicad Bensurto Jr., formerly the secretary-general of the Secretariat of the Commission on Maritime and Ocean Affairs, a cabinet level interagency coordinating body on the Law of the Sea and other maritime issues, during the Talakayan sa Embahada program sponsored by the Philippine Embassy in Washington held early this week. Another Filipino Renato Cruz de Castro also voiced out his comments about the Spratly issue. Bensurto said that the Philippine government has submitted on January 22, 2013 a petition for arbitration before the United Nations (UN) to settle the matter using the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS). Bensurto, in his presentation called “The Rule of Law: Path to Durable Peace in the South China Sea,” postulated that the UNCLOS must be the instrument to prevail, and not sovereignty rights which will only allow China to use “real politic” in its claims on the islands. He said that the arbitration approach “is moving” in favor of the Philippines. On the other hand, Valera said that the MHC is not against compulsory arbitration by the UN through the UNCLOS, but this should not be limited to such instrumentality. “There are five claimants to the Spratlys groups of islands and using the UNCLOS alone will never resolve such ownership because of the convoluted claims. MHC however maintains that the Kalayaan group of islands as well as other islands which are part of its 200 nautical miles territory rightfully belongs to the Philippines and must thus be protected. But in the same manner, the Philippines should invoke the territorial sovereign rights based on acts of discovery, occupation, and on certain inferred rights over continental shelf delimitation.” While China has been claiming sovereignty in the South China Sea, including the Spratlys, based on discovery and occupation, the Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei have likewise made their own claims. This, according to Valera, gives it more reason to invoke the sovereignty rights as well as UNCLOS to be able to see things on a larger picture. “If we use the UNCLOS alone, the convoluted territorial claims will never be resolved. The body to arbitrate on sovereign territorial rights would be the International Court of Justice. All the Philippines should do is to ask one more claimant country to have the petition tried before the international court,” he said. Valera also said that “territorial ownership rights will never be resolved in our lifetime, hence MHC is proposing that the Philippine government initiate the creation of an economic resource development body among these claimant nations in order to create a ‘win-win’ situation where resources are developed and shared by the states.” "We have to get real with our capability as a nation. Our strength is to form a collective stand of nations which can include the US, Japan, Australia, and other countries and establish mutually agreed principles on how to manage rich resources in the South China Sea." “The bottom line is the use of these resources in the South China Sea to benefit mankind. Hence, these conflicting claims must actually translate to cooperation for economic development in the region. The win-win situation is an operational and tested concept based on justice, sovereign and equality,” said Valera. For her part, Grace Valera, MHC co-executive director and former Philippine Embassy cultural officer, said that “we need to be well-informed and insightful in order to push the Spratlys issue in the right direction.” On the same breath, MHC said that the Philippine government needs to make a definite stance in claiming Sabah in north Borneo, Malaysia. “As it is now, the Philippines is not giving attention to the human rights violations committed by Malaysian government to the displaced Filipinos in Sabah,” said Valera. In his presentation, Dr. Abrahan Tillah Rasul, gave the audience a historical perspective on how the Sultanate of Sulu has sovereign territorial claims over Sabah. He said that because the people relied on western documentation by western authors, “pajak” was interpreted as cession of Sabah to the British government. “In the parlance of the locals, pajak actually means rent, to which the British Company paid the Sultanate about 00 a year based on the incomes of the Sultan from pearls and birds nests. We did not cede the land to the British, we only rented it out,” said Rasul, whose father, is one of the heirs of Sulu. “We are rich in history, but poor in wealth,” said Rasul in closing. At the same time, Atty. Valera said that claiming Sabah based on sovereignty rights also means economic opportunities for the people and the Philippine government. At present, there are about 800,000 indigenous Filipinos living and working in Sabah. He called on the Aquino government to claim Sabah and protect its citizens. (PNA) CTB/RBC/JSD
Posted on: Sat, 08 Jun 2013 19:19:39 +0000
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