UN tribunal to take up jurisdiction issue in oral hearings next week – DFA

The Netherlands-based arbitral tribunal, operating under a United Nations maritime convention, will only tackle the issue of jurisdiction over the Philippines’ case against China’s massive South China Sea claim during next week's oral arguments, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Friday.

 

Manila initially requested the court to tackle not only the issue of jurisdiction but the merits of the case as well, its case. However, Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose said the tribunal informed the Philippine government that it has decided to first resolve if it is the proper legal forum to hear the case.

 

Jose admitted that lack of jurisdiction over the Philippines’ complaint means the Permanent Court of Arbitration can no longer proceed with the case.

 

“If the court decides it has jurisdiction, then the Philippines will be asked to present oral arguments on the merits of the case,” Jose said, but, he added “that will be the end if they don’t have jurisdiction.”

 

“They can not proceed,” Jose said.

 

Asked when the court is expected to decide on the aspect of jurisdiction, Jose said: “There is no date yet.”

 

Philippine Solicitor General Florin Hilbay as agent of the Philippines, together with the country’s counsels from Washington DC-based law firm Foley and Hoag headed by lawyer Paul Reichler will present the country’s position during the hearings scheduled in The Hague from July 7 to 13.

 

“They will go there to argue our position,” Jose said, adding that the Philippines “has prepared enough for the oral arguments.”

 

Other members of the Philippine delegation are Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, officials from the Office of the Solicitor General and the DFA. They will also be joined by high-ranking officials from the executive, judicial and legislative departments, such as Senate President Franklin Drilon and House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte.

 

China, which refused to take part in the legal proceedings, said Manila’s case are baseless and lacks legal merit.

 

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Thursday called Manila’s arbitration case a “political provocation.”

 

Manila dismissed China’s allegation, insisting that arbitration is “a fundamental first step towards a peaceful and rules-based resolution of the issue.”

 

The Philippines sued China following a maritime standoff at a disputed shoal within Manila’s territory in 2012. The shoal, located 124 nautical miles from Masinloc town in Zambales and 472 nautical miles from China’s nearest landmass in Hainan, was seized by China on the same year.

 

Manila’s claims are anchored on the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea provision stating that coastal states are entitled to a 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone from their baselines. Both the Philippines and China are among the 163 signatories to the accord.

 

China's assertions, on the other hand, are based on its unilateral nine-dash line theory - a tongue-shaped encirclement covering almost the entire South China  Sea, an assertion that Manila says are illegal, excessive and a violation of international law.

 

Manila’s case seeks to define the areas, where China is asserting claims, whether it is a rock, reef an atoll, island or submerged feature, and subsequently determine from its baseline the allowed number of nautical miles or rights it is entitled to.

 

The resource-rich waters is home to a chain of more than 100 islands, shoals, reefs and coral outcrops and straddles one of the world’s most vital sea lanes. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have overlapping sea claims.

 

Competing claims have sparked occasional violence and now regarded as a potential regional flashpoint for armed conflict. — RSJ, GMA News