Navy official prefers diplomatic
path over war on Spratlys issue

A TOP official of the Navy yesterday supported the government's decision to enter into a joint seismic study around the disputed Spratly islands with two other countries with territorial claims to the islands on the South China Sea, saying that exercising diplomacy is better than going to war.

Interviewed after the turnover of two newly refurbished Navy ships at the Navy headquarters in Manila, Navy vice commander Rear Admiral Amable Tolentino admitted that the Philippine military is inferior to the militaries of the other claimant countries.

"From a student of regional security, diplomacy is still the best. We avoid war as much as possible. Exploitation of resources by each country, once it overlaps your jurisdiction, there is a possibility of war. So if you have diplomacy, you have dialogues. That is better than going to war," said Tolentino.

The government has entered into a Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking agreement with claimant-countries China and Vietnam in 2005. The other countries claiming Spratlys in part or in whole are Taiwan, Malaysia, and Brunei.

Tolentino said he thinks the agreement is beneficial to all three countries involved.

"Yes. That is actually our purpose - how to make use of the economic potential of that (disputed area). If it's going to benefit all, why not? Although those in the higher-ups are still talking about it, my opinion is that diplomacy is better than going to war, rather than fighting over certain areas. That's a general statement that I can make. But of course those are political decision that's up to the high-ups. We, in the military, will only implement what is given us," he said.

Asked if the Navy has the means to go to war, Tolentino replied: "We cannot cope with the military (of the clamant countries), that is the reality. That's why we are suggesting diplomacy. The truth is, let us admit it, let us be realistic, we cannot cope with the capability of the other countries."