PH, China raise SCS hotline to highest level, officials say

The Philippines and China have signed an agreement that elevates to their presidential offices and foreign ministries the levels of officials who may call each other through an emergency mechanism in case of new incidents in the South China Sea, government sources said on Tuesday.

The new agreement called "Arrangement on Improving Philippines-China Maritime Communication Mechanisms"—details of which were seen by GMA News Online—was signed during a crucial bilateral consultation meeting hosted by Manila on July 2 amid heightened tensions in the disputed waters.

According to the document, the agreement "provides several channels for communication" between Philippines and China specifically on maritime issues:

• Through the representatives to be designated by their leaders;
• Through the Department of Foreign Affairs and China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs counterparts, including at the Foreign Minister and Vice Foreign Minister levels, or though their designated representatives; and
• Through the respective Coast Guard channels, which will be set up once the corresponding MOU between the Coast Guards is concluded.

"The DFA is in discussions with the Chinese side on the guidelines that will govern the implementation of this arrangement," the document read.

The DFA said after the talks that both sides signed and agreed to discuss how to operationalize this mechanism but did not provide details.

The next bilateral consultation on the disputes will be hosted by China on a date still to be decided by both sides. 

Last year, Philippine officials said they tried to use an existing hotline between the two countries after the Chinese Coast Guard trained a water cannon at a Philippine boat in the West Philippine Sea, but China could not be reached for several hours.

The earlier government-to-government hotline established by the two countries under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Chinese President Xi Jinping was intended as a joint communication mechanism to manage maritime emergencies and unplanned encounters in the South China Sea. 

According to a DFA statement, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong "had frank and constructive discussions on the situation in the South China Sea" during the July 2 meeting in Manila.

Citing recent incidents in the South China Sea, both sides recognized that there was a need "to restore trust, rebuild confidence, and create conditions conducive to productive dialogue and interaction."

"The two sides discussed their respective positions on Ayungin Shoal and affirmed their commitment to de-escalate tensions without prejudice to their respective positions," the DFA said.

While there was "substantial progress on developing measures to manage the situation at sea," the DFA said "significant differences remain."

At the meeting, Lazaro told her Chinese counterpart that the Philippines "will be relentless in protecting its interests and upholding its sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea."

West Philippine Sea is the name the Philippines uses to refer to portions of the South China Sea that falls within its exclusive economic zone and its jurisdiction.

However, both sides agreed to continue discussions "to find a mutually acceptable resolution to the issues."

A vital trading and shipping lane, the South China Sea, dotted with rocks, shoals, and reefs where rich oil and mineral deposits were found, is claimed in part or wholly by the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan. 

Videos and photos released by the Philippine military showed a tense confrontation on June 17 at the shoal, where a grounded World War II-era vessel, the BRP Sierra Madre, serves as a Philippine military outpost. 

Several Philippine Navy personnel were injured in China's attacks, including one who lost his right thumb. Chinese Coast Guard also slashed the Philippines' Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats (RHIB) and smashed its navigational screens. 

Chinese Coast Guard vessels rammed Philippine vessels, seized firearms and rubber boats, and threatened Filipino soldiers with knives, axes, and spears to stop them from delivering food supplies, firearms, and other necessities to Filipino troops at the Second Thomas Shoal.

It was the most violent Chinese assault on the Philippines, which triggered condemnation and alarm from several countries led by its treaty ally, the United States.

Marcos and other officials protested the Chinese assault, calling it "deliberate and illegal" and demanded that China return the Philippine vessels and firearms.

Washington has warned that it has a treaty obligation to defend the Philippines from hostile armed attacks. 

The Philippines largely won a landmark case against China’s massive claim in the South China Sea before an arbitration tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, but Beijing does not recognize the ruling.  —NB, GMA Integrated News