20 countries to brainstorm how ‘to talk sense’ into China — Philippine envoy

September 11, 2024 | 6:19pm

MANILA, Philippines — Representatives of at least 20 nations are set to meet at the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly this month to discuss how they can “talk some sense” into China to keep it from dialing up its aggression in the disputed South China Sea.

Besides the planned summit, the Philippines also plans to build consensus with other Southeast Asian nations affected by China’s expansive claims in the contested waters, said Jose Manuel Romualdez, the Philippine Ambassador to the United States, at a forum with foreign government and military leaders on Tuesday. 

“The Philippines has never faced this challenge since World War 2. We’re playing a thin line between trying to use diplomacy and using our armed forces and our alliances to deter China from doing what they’re doing,” Romualdez said.

Manila’s envoy to Washington said the purpose of the proposed summit is to “to see or find ways to talk some sense into [the People’s Republic of China].”

The 79th session of the UN General Assembly opened on Tuesday, September 10, while the high-level general debate will take place September 24. 

“The more countries band together and give a message to China that what they’re doing is definitely not on the right side of history, then we have a better than even chance that they will not make that wrong move that we’re all fearing,” he said.

Romualdez said the Philippines is also reaching out to other Southeast Asian claimants like Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam to “find ways to bond together and approach China that will not include other countries not in the area.”

“We can talk to them in a more civilized way again to be able to find a solution to the territorial claims that they have,” he added.

China’s territorial claims in the disputed waters — which a 2016 ruling dismissed — expanded from the controversial nine-dash line to a new ten-dash line in 2023. Romualdez warned that China’s claim could continue to grow, possibly expanding to “12, 13, or even the entire area.” 

Last week, Chinese naval and civilian vessels in the West Philippine Sea made their biggest show of force this year, deploying at least 207 vessels to nine occupied features, based on the monitoring of the Philippine Navy.

The swarm of Chinese ships comes after repeated collisions between Philippine and Chinese coast guard vessels, prompting Manila to issue its 43rd protest note against Beijing. 

China considers almost the entire South China Sea, including waters referred to by the Philippines as the West Philippine Sea, to be its territorial waters.  

The Philippines filed a case against China in 2013, and three years later, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in favor of Manila, declaring China’s extensive claims had no legal basis.