BY ANTHONY IAN CRUZ

AN article in the Jan-Feb. 2008 issue of the Far Eastern Economic Review accused President Arroyo and Manila of selling out to China the Philippine and regional interests in South China Sea.

Barry Wain, a former Wall Street Journal Asia editor, in his article titled "Asean: Manila’s Bungle in the South China Sea," argued that Arroyo violated a 2002 regional agreement that called on Asean member-states to deal with China as a bloc on the six-country Spratly Islands dispute.

Wain’s report came out weeks after the surprise Feb. 2 visit of Taiwan’s Chen in one of the disputed islands.

But for Wain, writer-in-residence for the Singapore-based Institute for Southeast Asian Studies, the Philippines-China ruckus over Chen’s visit appeared to be "flotsam" compared to what Arroyo had agreed with the Chinese government way back in 2004.

Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines flotsam as miscellaneous or unimportant material.

During Arroyo’s state visit to China that year, the two countries signed the "Agreement for Seismic Undertaking for Certain Areas in the South China Sea By and Between China National Offshore Oil Corporation and Philippine National Oil Company" which, Wain said, angered Vietnam.

"Vietnam immediately voiced concern, declaring that the agreement, concluded without consultation, was not in keeping with the spirit of the 2002 Asean-China Declaration on the Conduct of Parties," Wain wrote.

Wain also said that "ironically, it was Manila that first sought a united front and rallied Asean to confront China over its intrusion into Mischief Reef a decade earlier."

Vietnam stopped its objections in March 2005 when it joined China and the Philippines in turning the agreement into a tripartite undertaking.

"The Philippines also has made breathtaking concessions in agreeing to the area for study, including parts of its own continental shelf not even claimed by China and Vietnam," said Wain.

He stressed that "through its actions, Manila has given a certain legitimacy to China’s legally spurious ‘historic claim’ to most of the South China Sea."

Calling the Philippines "militarily weak and lagging economically," Wain said the Arroyo government "had opted for Chinese favors at the expense of Asean political solidarity."

DFA NOT CONSULTED

Wain said President Arroyo did not consult the Department of Foreign Affairs in negotiating and signing the agreement, citing unnamed Philippine officials.

"Sold the idea by politicians with business links who have other deals going with the Chinese, Ms. Arroyo did not seek the views of her foreign ministry" which Wain said would have been opposed by Filipino diplomats but they were informed too late.

DFA spokesman Claro Cristobal clarified that the agreement "involves the oil companies of the three countries" and that "an agreement to extend it has yet to be formalized."

MORE PROBLEMS

The continued failure of all parties to resolve the dispute and the effects of Manila’s concessions to Beijing may pose problems in the near future, said Wain.

Wain also said that by signing the agreement, Manila expresses "support for the Chinese ‘historic claim’" and "weakens the positions of fellow Asean members Malaysia and Brunei," whose claimed areas are partly within what the Chinese claim.

Wain called it "a stunning about-face" by the Philippines, just 10 years after the country led protests over China’s action on Mischief Reef, one of the disputed islands.