There’s relative calm in the just recently turbulent waters of South China, which makes it the best time to explore ways to find lasting solutions to the area which is being claimed by Brunei, China, Malaysia, Philippines,Vietnam, and Taiwan.
On Oct. 17, the Carlos P. Romulo Foundation for Peace and Development chaired by former Foreign Secretary Roberto R. Romulo in collaboration with the Institute of South East Asian Studies, Singapore (ISEAS), will host a by- invitation- only forum at the Manila Polo Club in Makati City.
The CPR Foundation said there will be 23 notable former officials and authorities from academe speaking from ASEAN countries, China, Australia, India, Canada, the United States, and Europe. China has agreed to nominate three speakers for the event.
The forum is Track II, a term in diplomacy that means informal diplomacy in which non-officials (academic scholars, retired civil and military officials, public figures, and social activists) engage in dialogue, with the aim of conflict resolution, or confidence-building.
This type of dialogue is recognized to be productive as participants are known to be more candid, uninhibited by official restrictions.
“ While official government-to-government talks are necessary, Track II discussions could shed light on the complex issues involved and thus contribute to the success of these negotiations,” organizers of the forum said.
The forum will feature distinguished speakers which only a prestigious organization could assemble. Forum chairman will be former Secretary of Foreign Affairs Domingo L.Siazon, Jr.
Opening speakers will be led by Frank Wisner, international affairs advisor of Patton Boggs LLP, former American ambassador to Philippines, India and Egypt as well as a former undersecretary of defense and undersecretary of state .He was also vice-chairman of AIG.
Another speaker will be Hasjim Djalal, Hasjim Djalal, senior advisor to the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. Former Ambassador/Deputy Permanent Representative of to the UN, former Ambassador to Canada, Germany and Ambassador at-large for the Law of the Sea and Maritime Affairs (IDN).
The view from China will be articulated by Chen Shiqui, professor at China Foreign Affairs University and at Xi’an Jiaotong University.
Chen was a former Director-General of Treaties and Law at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a former Ambassador to Indonesia and to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Vienna.
Forum organizers are still waiting for the names of the two other speakers from China.
There will be two other sessions. One, to be chaired by chaired by former Philippine Ambassador to China Romualdo Ong will tackle, “Claims and Interests”
The other session will focus on “Towards Peace and Prosperity in the South China Sea: Pathways for Regional Cooperation” to be chaired by e Dato Timothy Ong of Brunei Darussalam, who is Chairman of Asia Inc. Forum and former Acting Chair of the Brunei Economic Development Board.
Before the forum proper, there will be a closed-door session on October 16, labeled “Informal Session: Scene Setting”.
In this session “Chatham House Rules” will apply: participants are free to use the information received but neither the identity nor affiliation of the speaker, nor that of any other participant, may be revealed. The chairman of this session will be former Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro.
“…….Before the forum proper, there will be a closed-door session on October 16, labeled “Informal Session: Scene Setting”…..”
ito ang maganda, ang makita ang situational map ng piang-aagawang mga isla sapagkat kung pagmamasdan ay dikit na dikit sa Pilipinas at pasok sa ating teritoryo.
may tanong din na maaaring masagot at magiging kapasyahan sa kanilangn pakikipag-agawan sa teritoryong maliwanag na nasasakop ng Pilipinas: bakit ngayon lang inaangkin ng bawat isang sumasawsaw ang Spratlys? dahil ba nabalitaan nilang mayaman ito sa gas at marine resources?
kasama ba sa mga dahilang ito partikular sa kaso ng pag-angkin ng China ang naudlot na pangako (sapagkat nagkabulilyasuhan) ni gloria arroyo na ihahain niya in silver platter ang Spratlys kapalit ang bilyong dolyares na pautang na pagdurusahan ng taong bayan kasama na ang mga ipapanganak ng mga hindi pa ipanapanganak?
China is so greedy! Aba e yung red dots sa kanilang inaangking territorial waters ay sakop lahat, kulang na lang ay pati hangin sa himpapawid sa itaas ng claimed area ay sakupin!
Sa Pinas yan, oy! Ayan sa mapa… amin talaga!
Ellen, you forgot to identify Dr. Hasjim Djalal’s nationality as Indonesian.
chi, ang territory ay kasama pati himpapawid at ilalim ng lupa. Kung kaya nating hukayin patagos sa ilalim, atin na ang New York, hehehe.
This sea conflict is a never ending process. Yes good to refer Dr. Hasjim Djalal he has a vital role to play in this matter.
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Ha, ganun ba Tongue? Oo nga noh pala! Simulan na ang hukayan, baka makabahagi tayo kahit katiting ng New York. Kaya pala sinara ng US ang mga tunnels na hinukay ng Mejicanos. hehehe…
Tongue, kung kaya mong hukayin ng tagusan at umabot ng NY. Aabangan kita sa kabila (NY side). Paglabas mo, pakuha tayo pic para post natin sa facebook. 😛
The Spratly problem has been on years. Talks and complaints to the UN did not produce any peaceful and agreeable results. The case never left square one inspite of efforts to resolve it.
What can really be the talking and agreeing points of these claimants’ countries? Nothing, unless every one is willing to surrender or give up an inch of their claimed territory, there’s hope for a peaceful settlement, but as things stand no one is willing to do it. It’s because it has been believed that the area contain so much wealth waiting to be explored and developed.
China is the super power and the big bully in this part of the world. She’s claiming and encroaching into a clearly defined territory of other claimants. She’s imposing and wanted to have it all to herself by intimidating the others. Her determination to have it all is out of the question and even if the UN draw the line and territorial limits of each claimant countries, she will not back out and even willing to go to war if push comes to shove.
Forums or talks without anyone budging from their positions will not produce anything. One thing that they could try and talk about is to unite, form a conglomerate each contributing to a joint capital, joint exploration and pro-rated sharing of whatever produced from it.
But I think that’s not possible and like asking for the moon.
chi, Mike, Juiceko, ilang kilometro pa ang lalim tinatambakan na yan ng Kano. Magsasara ang PAL at United dahil wala ng Pan Pacific flights, water slide na lang, heheh. One hundred dollars lang cross-border singil ko siguradong dadagsa TNT diyan. Yan e kung may mag-iimbento ng insulated suits para makatagos ng Earth core na hindi ka malilitson.
‘Bihira yan, pang-Popeye na ang tema natin, hahaha. Napanood ko ‘to nung maliit pa ‘ko. Kaso namali si Brutus, sa China siya tumagos, lol.
florry, unless China can demonstrate credible defense technology, the imagined neighborhood bully “advantage” will always end up with a mere numbers game of soldiers in hand-to-hand combat which does not impress the Vietnamese at all. Faulty AK-47s and AK-74s, years overdue refurbishment of a Russian Aircraft Carrier, backward missile systems, and lately, a scrapped program of dangerously designed bullet train, all contribute to the timeliness that the OTHER claimants can exploit to their advantage. We cannot wait for China to perfect its military systems before pursuing the Spratlys claim.
As of the moment, we are not calling China’s bluff but we are pursuing the pot with our own means. I am with Noynoy on this one, he is hot on the trail and does not appear to be relenting despite the simultaneous diplomatic overtures. His foreign policy advisers are right on the money. So far.
Any way you look at it, the Chinese officials are answerable to a huge constituency. They are treading on shaky grounds they must satisfy the bosses’ needs. They cannot afford a screw-up. A boycott of China by SEAsia, the current rich kids on the block, may spell doom for her economic gains and obliterate whatever they have achieved in the past decade.
We’re looking at a lynch mob in the billions. It’s them that are taking the bigger risk, they have more to lose. Is the coveted prize worth it?
And us? We are scraping the bottom at present, no way to go but up.
Tongue, puwede namang lihisan ang earth core, ah. ‘yun nga la’ang it will take additional time bago makalusot sa New York. pero….. hindi kaya sa Afghanistan tayo umahon? o, kaya’y sa Iraq?