III China and the Philippines Have Reached Consensus on Settling Their Relevant Disputes in the South China Sea

Since the 1980s, China has put forward a series of proposals and initiatives for managing and settling through negotiation disputes with the Philippines in the South China Sea. China's initiative of "pursuing joint development while shelving disputes" regarding the South China Sea issue was first addressed to the Philippines. China has conducted consultations with the Philippines on managing maritime differences, and the two sides have reached important consensus on settling through negotiation relevant disputes in the South China Sea and properly managing relevant disputes.

In August 1995, China and the Philippines issued the Joint Statement between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of the Philippines concerning Consultations on the South China Sea and on Other Areas of Cooperation in which they agreed that "[d]isputes shall be settled by the countries directly concerned" and that "a gradual and progressive process of cooperation shall be adopted with a view to eventually negotiating a settlement of the bilateral disputes." Subsequently, China and the Philippines reaffirmed their consensus on settling the South China Sea issue through bilateral negotiation and consultation in a number of bilateral documents.

In November 2002, China and the ten ASEAN Member States signed the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in which the parties solemnly "undertake to resolve their territorial and jurisdictional disputes by peaceful means [...] through friendly consultations and negotiations by sovereign states directly concerned".

▲The 6th Senior Officials Meeting on the Implementation of the DOC was held in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, in September 2013. In this meeting, the discussion of COC was commenced.

The above consensus and commitment constitutes an agreement between the two states excluding third-party dispute settlement as a way to settle relevant disputes in the South China Sea between China and the Philippines. This agreement must be observed.

China and the Philippines have made some progress in managing their differences and conducting practical maritime cooperation. In March 1999, China and the Philippines held the first China-Philippines Experts Group Meeting on Confidence-Building Measures, and issued a joint statement. In 2004, China National Offshore Oil Corporation and Philippine National Oil Company signed the Agreement for Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking in Certain Areas in the South China Sea. In 2005, national oil companies from China, the Philippines and Vietnam signed the Tripartite Agreement for Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking in the Agreement Area in the South China Sea.

Regrettably, due to the lack of willingness for cooperation from the Philippine side, the China-Philippines Experts Group Meeting on Confidence-Building Measures has stalled, and the China-Philippines-Vietnam tripartite marine seismic undertaking has failed to move forward.