It seemed like a simple question: “Is Itu Aba a rock or an island?”
The Itu Aba issue, however, was far more complex and had far-reaching implications in the Philippines’ 2016 arbitral case versus China.
For Philippine Ambassador to Türkiye Henry Bensurto, the answer to this question was crucial in the country’s arbitration case against the Asian superpower over the West Philippine Sea.
He stressed it was “most important” because if Itu Aba were a rock, it would free Reed Bank (Philippine name: Recto Bank), known to be rich in oil and gas, from dispute and prove to the world that this feature and its entitlements belong to the Philippines.
Bensurto, an expert on maritime security and territorial disputes in the West Philippine Sea, was the key player of the Philippine team in bringing the arbitral case before a tribunal of the Permanent Court of Arbitration.
He looked back on the country’s historic win eight years ago in the July 10 episode of the Tres from Tress podcast with VERA Files’ senior editor Theresa Martelino-Reyes.
Rock or island?
The inclusion of Itu Aba in the arbitral case was a contentious issue within the Philippine team. Both former solicitors general Francis Jardeleza and Florin Hilbay wanted it excluded. Bensurto, then-Foreign Affairs secretary Albert del Rosario, and the lead foreign counsel, Paul Reichler, insisted on its inclusion.
Itu Aba is the biggest feature in the Spratlys Group of Islands in the South China Sea and is occupied by Taiwan.
If Itu Aba is considered an island, its maritime entitlement would encompass Reed Bank, which is within the Philippines’ EEZ. Itu Aba is 200.6 nautical miles from Palawan’s archipelagic baseline and 539.6 nautical miles from China’s baseline point adjacent to Hainan Island.
“Kung ‘yung Itu Aba ay disputed, ibig sabihin, ‘yung maritime entitlement niya rin disputed. Ibig sabihin no’n, ‘yung nasasakop niya na area na Reed Bank, disputed. Eh, ang sa nakita natin, sa pag-aaral natin, hindi dapat siya disputed. Dapat mawala siya sa disputed area.
Talagang atin lang siya (If Itu Aba is disputed, that means, its maritime entitlement is also disputed. That means the Reed Bank area covered is also disputed. From what we saw in our study, it should not be disputed. It should be excluded from the disputed area. It is really ours.),” Bensurto explained.
If Reed Bank was contested, it would have left the Philippines with only one option to tap the resources there: enter a joint development agreement with China.
“This is not favorable to us because Reed Bank is still a disputed area. That means, ang solusyon lang diyan (the only solution there) [is] joint development in the context of China’s narrative. Eh, lugi naman tayo ro’n (We are at a disadvantage that way),” Bensurto pointed out.
‘Elephant in the room’
Jardeleza and Hilbay, however, were concerned that the arbitral tribunal would declare Itu Aba an island with an EEZ that would encroach into Reed Bank. Bensurto called Itu Aba “the elephant in the room” that needed to be addressed.
“In effect, parang ang sinubmit lang natin for decision ng tribunal ‘yung mga sigurado tayo na hindi isla, ‘di ba? Tapos may isa dito, malaki, hindi natin sinubmit (it appears that what we submitted for the tribunal’s decision were only the features we were sure are not islands, right? Then we have one here, a big one, we did not submit). So, Itu Aba was the elephant in the room,” Bensurto said.
He added that opening the issue on Itu Aba before the tribunal meant asserting the Philippines’ rights to its claims.
“Kasi pag hindi mo kinwestiyon ‘yan, ibig sabihin ina-accept mo na ‘yung assertion ng China na isla siya without any fight, (Because if you did not question that, it means you accept China’s assertion that it is an island without any fight), without giving ourselves the chance,” the career diplomat stressed.
It was former president Benigno Aquino, Jr. who made the final call.
In a meeting at Malacañan Palace, Bensurto recalled presenting the case to the president and a group of people, some of whom were apprehensive and believed that the jurisdiction issue would be dangerous. Aquino, however, gave the go signal two hours after the meeting.
The question of Itu Aba still needed to be dealt with. But the former president “saw the wisdom” in its inclusion in the case.
“When you go to court – integrity, credibility, truth – they are so important…It is very important for the judges to see us as being honest people, as being truthful people, that what we put on the table is the truth. And the president saw that… and there’s no way we can ignore the elephant in the room, therefore, we include[d] Itu Aba,” he added.
Including Itu Aba allowed the team to move the case forward, Bensurto stressed.
“Kasi pag nakita na natin kung ano siya at ano ang extent ng kanyang entitlement, at makita rin natin kung ano ‘yung extent ng entitlement ng (Because if we see what it is and the extent of its entitlement, and we can also see the extent of the entitlement of the) Philippine archipelago from Palawan. Then, if you apply the principles of delimitation, hindi niya pwedeng i-maximize hanggang 200 (it cannot be maximized until 200 [nautical miles]). At best, hanggang doon lang siya sa median line and pag tiningnan mo ‘yung median line, labas ‘yung Reed Bank (it’s just until the median line and when you look at the median line, the Reed Bank is outside),” Bensurto elaborated.
In the end, the tribunal ruled that Itu Aba is a rock.
This means that China cannot stop the Philippines from unilaterally exploring and exploiting the resources in the Reed Bank. It should stop harassing and preventing drilling activities in the area under service contracts granted by the government.
“Reed Bank is completely ours. It’s non-disputed,” Bensurto stressed. “This was the clarity in the decision of the tribunal.”
With gas reserves in the Malampaya oil field – which supplies four power plants in Luzon – nearing depletion, the country should be able to tap into Reed Bank’s estimated 5.4 billion barrels of oil and 55.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas as an alternative source of energy.
