Experts: US Will Not Give Up Neutral Stance in Huangyan Island Standoff for Philippines’ Sake

Published in Xinhua Net
(China) on 3 May 2012
by Yuan Meng, Dong Qing (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Qi Luo. Edited by Katya Abazajian.
According to CCTV, Philippine Foreign Minister Rosario said that the United States will fulfill the obligations specified under the Philippine-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty.

Commentators Song Xiao Jun and Zhou Qing An stated that the treaty was a leverage to restrain the domestic opposition in Philippine, and the United States has made clear [their plan] to remain neutral.

According to Song Xiaojun, the Philippine-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty stipulates that the United States will offer assistance when the uncontested sovereignty of the Philippines had been violated. However, this is limited to the controversial sovereignty.

The treaty was signed in the 1950s, mainly to suppress the expanding wave of communism in the Philippines, maintain its upper class regime, and wow the domestic anti-government forces. In fact, the Philippines has never been threatened by international forces.

Therefore, Rosario’s emphasis on the treaty was still to restrain domestic opposition at the Huangyan Island standoff and gain more support.

Zhou Qing An said, "The United States will not take sides in Huangyan Island standoff." U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made it clear in the "2 + 2" meeting that Sino-U.S. relations are very important in international relations in the 21st century; it is a constructive relationship. We can say that it is not the first step of the U.S.’s Asia-Pacific strategy to get involved in the Huangyan Island standoff.

Thus, the U.S. will not abandon the original strategy to offer additional support to the Philippines. The Philippines can only continue to use international arbitration to solve the problem although it is inappropriate.


据央视报道,菲律宾外长罗萨里奥表示,美国一定会履行菲美之间共同防御条约所规定的义务。对此,特约评论员宋晓军、周庆安表示,该条约是菲律宾用来牵制菲国内反对势力的砝码,美国已经明确表示保持中立。

宋晓军分析道,菲美共同防御条约规定,在菲律宾的无争议主权受到侵害时,美国会进行援助。然而这只限于没有争议的菲律宾主权。从历史上看,该条约签订于上世纪50年代,主要为了压制菲律宾国内不断扩大的共产主义浪潮,维护本国上流社会政权,对国内反政府各派力量形成震慑。实际上,菲律宾从来没有遭受来自国外的威胁。所以,罗萨里奥对该条约的强调还是为了遏制国内反对黄岩岛事件的声音,同时获得更大的支持。

周庆安说,在黄岩岛问题上,美国不会选边站。美国国务卿希拉里在“2+2”会议上明确表示,中美关系是21世纪非常重要的国与国之间的关系,是全方位建设性关系。可以说,牵涉进黄岩岛争端绝不是美国亚太战略的第一步,不是首要考虑的问题。所以,美国不会为了菲律宾放弃原本的战略,不会给予菲律宾额外的支持。菲方只能延用国际仲裁的方式解决问题,然而这是不合理的。
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