EU urges peaceful resolution to South China Sea dispute

Philippine and Japanese Coast Guard personnel conduct a drill as they board a Philippine Coast Guard boat during their annual anti-piracy exercise in the waters off Manila Bay on July 13, 2016. China asserts sovereignty over almost all of the strategically vital waters, despite rival claims from its Southeast Asian neighbours, most notably the Philippines. PHOTO | AFP

What you need to know:

  • The statement came after days of wrangling over wording as eastern EU countries, including Slovenia and Croatia, which also have territorial disputes before the tribunal, diplomats said.

BRUSSELS, Friday

The European Union urged China and the Philippines to settle peacefully their dispute over the South China Sea but stopped short of pushing Beijing to abide by an international tribunal’s ruling against the Asian powerhouse’s claims.

The watered-down statement, which came after days of arguments among member states, did not follow the lead of the United States in specifically calling on China to honour the decision by the United Nations-backed tribunal in The Hague.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said in a statement that the bloc’s member states “acknowledge” the ruling but said the EU does not take a position on sovereignty rows.

She added that the union “expresses the need for the parties to resolve the dispute through peaceful means, to clarify their claims and pursue them in respect and in accordance with international law”.

“The EU calls upon the parties concerned to address remaining and further related issues through negotiations and other peaceful means and refrain from activities likely to raise tensions,” said Mogherini.

The statement came after days of wrangling over wording as eastern EU countries, including Slovenia and Croatia, which also have territorial disputes before the tribunal, diplomats said.

“Two member states (Croatia, Slovenia) have a principle problem with arbitration judgments,” an EU diplomat told journalists on condition of anonymity.

“It is a difficult balancing act. We have a legal position, but on the other hand we need China for a whole bunch of other topics,” the diplomat said before the statement was agreed.

China asserts sovereignty over almost all of the strategically vital waters, despite rival claims from its Southeast Asian neighbours, most notably the Philippines.

China’s claims, which include waters approaching neighbouring countries, are based on a vaguely defined “nine-dash-line” found on a 1940s Chinese map.

The row has embroiled the United States, which has deployed aircraft carriers and a host of other vessels to assert freedom of navigation in the waters — through which a third of the global oil trade passes.

The US put itself on a collision course with China on Tuesday when it described the ruling as “final and legally binding”.