Arbitration ruling on sea row with China may come early 2016 – DFA chief

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario on Thursday said the Netherlands-based arbitral tribunal may hand down a ruling on the Philippines' complaint against China’s massive claim in the disputed South China Sea by the first quarter of 2016.

 

Manila’s case, which was filed before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague last January 2013, seeks to invalidate China’s nine-dash line claim, a tongue-shaped encirclement that covers a huge swath of the resource-rich waters, including those that are within Philippine territory.

 

“We expect an award by first quarter of 2016,” Del Rosario said in an interview with cable news ANC.

 

Manila’s decision to seek arbitration demonstrates its resolve to protect its territorial claims in the South China Sea and a ruling on its case, according to Del Rosario, will clarify the Philippines’ maritime entitlements and eventually pave the way for a resolution of the disputes.

 

Last March, the Philippine government submitted a 4,000-page legal document, called in international arbitration parlance as the memorial, which contains a package of evidence and maps to bolster its case and to try to declare China’s sweeping claim over the South China Sea illegal.

 

Manila has adopted the name West Philippine Sea for parts of the South China Sea that are within its United Nations-recognized exclusive economic zone. Beijing’s far-reaching claims also overlap with the territorial boundaries of its other Asian neighbors such as Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

China won't take part in proceedings
 

China declared several times that it will not participate in the process and insists on direct negotiations with the Philippines, but the tribunal still gave Beijing until Dec. 15 to submit a counter-memorial.

 

Beijing’s non-compliance to the tribunal’s order is expected to fast-track the Philippine case, Del Rosario said, adding the legal process will push through with or without China’s participation.

 

“If China does not submit their response to our submission, by Dec. 16, the day after, there will be questions that will be given us by the arbitral tribunal. We're supposed to answer these by March and then by July, there will be oral hearings for two weeks,” he explained.

 

The tribunal will then proceed to issuing its final awards in the next several months after that or on the first quarter of 2016, Del Rosario said.

 

Tensions in the South China Sea – one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes - spiked anew amid China’s increasingly aggressive behavior by beefing up its military and paramilitary presence and engaging in reclamation activities in contested features.

 

China’s actions have alarmed foreign governments like the United States, Japan, Australia and the European Union.

 

Defying international calls to halt its ongoing expansion activities, Beijing insists it has “indisputable” sovereignty over the waters, citing ancient maps and historical records to back its assertion.

 

But legal analysts have said that China’s historical basis for its huge territorial claims has no merit under modern-day international laws.

 

Del Rosario said 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.

 

“I think that China wants to be a world power, they are a world power, and I think as a world power they want respect, they want credibility and, I think, to have that, they must be a responsible state and for them to be a responsible state, they must adhere to the rule of law,” he said. — RSJ, GMA News