Palace backs DFA's position to bring Panatag issue to international court

Malacañang on Tuesday backed the Department of Foreign Affairs' decision to seek international arbitration to resolve the territorial dispute with China over the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal.

 

“We support the DFA’s position to bring the Panatag incident before the ITLOS (International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea) as part of our country’s diplomatic solution to the standoff,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said in a text message to reporters.

 

She added that “it is in the best interest of all concerned to settle the issue through diplomatic means.”

 

Earlier in the day, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario invited Chinese officials to join the Philippines in bringing the issue to the ITLOS.

 

“The whole world knows that China has myriad more ships and aircraft than the Philippines. At day’s end, however, we hope to demonstrate that international law would be the great equalizer,” he said.

 

The ITLOS is an intergovernmental organization that settles territorial disputes between countries.

 

Del Rosario said the Philippines will bring the issue to the international court “to ascertain which of us (China and Philippines) has sovereign rights over the waters surrounding the Scarborough Shoal.”

 

The Panatag Shoal is a triangle of small islands in the West Philippine Sea circling a lagoon of 150 square kilometers. It is part of the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone, which is mandated by the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

 

Although both the Philippines and China are signatories to the UNCLOS, China continues to claim ownership of the shoal, saying it was first discovered in the 13th century during the Yuan Dynasty. — Amita Legaspi/RSJ, GMA News