DFA: Beijing's sweeping claims over entire South China Sea is the problem

China must show to the world that it respects the rule of law for it to be accepted as a responsible nation by the international community, a Foreign Affairs spokesman said in a new war of words with Beijing officials.

“China can end this South China Sea dispute by defining what the core issue is. [It] claims indisputable sovereignty over nearly all of the South China Sea through its nine-dash-line claim, which is an excessive claim that is in gross violation of international law,” Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez told a news conference Thursday.

Hernandez’s statement was in response to the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s accusations that the Philippines backtracked on its commitment to resolve both nations’ territorial rifts in a “step-by-step” manner.

“To be accepted as a responsible nation, China has no choice. It must show to the international community its respect for the rule of law, including the mechanism of arbitration [that] is being pursued by the Philippines to clearly define respective maritime entitlements in the South China Sea,” Hernandez said.

China’s massive claim to the South China Sea – which even encompasses the West Philippine Sea, and its persistent incursions in Philippine territorial waters – has prompted Manila to seek legal recourse through international arbitration.

The ill-equipped Philippine military is no match to China’s, but the Philippines believes that justice can be dispensed equally through international law whether the protagonists are small nations or world powers.

China refused to join the arbitration, saying the basis of Manila’s arguments are groundless.

Competing claims to the South China Sea, a strategic waterway believed to be sitting atop huge gas and oil deposits, by the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have sparked occasional violence and now regarded as a potential regional flashpoint for armed conflict.

The US, Philippines’ military treaty ally, is not a party to the territorial row but has declared that it is in its national interest to ensure unfettered access to the sea and that conflicts are resolved peacefully.

Beijing warned the US to stay away from the disputes, which it described as an Asian issue that should not involve outsiders like Washington.

Filipino groups will mount simultaneous protests on July 24 in Manila and in several countries and capitals where China has a diplomatic mission to denounce what it calls violation of international law and bullying of the Philippines.

Among those who pledged to join in the demonstrations are Filipino organizations in the United States, London, Rome, Italy and Israel.

Hernandez said the planned demonstration is a peaceful exercise by Filipinos who wanted their voices heard on the issue.

“I understand these actions are being led by individuals and groups in their private capacity. Filipinos have all the right to express and voice out in a peaceful manner their position and sentiments in the issue in the West Philippine Sea,” Hernandez said.  — Michaela del Callar /LBG, GMA News