Philippines seeks international arbitration on South China Sea

Manila, Philippines: The Philippines took a daring legal step against China’s claims virtually to the entire South China Sea on Tuesday, formally notifying the Asian superpower through its ambassador that Manila was seeking international arbitration to declare Beijing’s expansionist moves in the potentially oil-rich waters “illegal and invalid.” Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario told a news conference that his department summoned Chinese Ambassador Ma Keqing and handed her a note notifying the Chinese government that the Philippine government was elevating both countries’ conflicting claims to an international tribunal. Despite the bold move, the Philippines said it would continue efforts to bolster ties with China but appeared ready for any backlash. The Philippines, del Rosario, said made the move after past diplomatic efforts to resolve the territorial rifts failed. [caption id=“attachment_597902” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Philippine Foreign secretary Albert del Rosario (L) reads a statement during a press conference in Manila. AFP[/caption] “The Philippines has exhausted almost all political and diplomatic avenues for a peaceful negotiated settlement of its maritime disputes with China,” del Rosario said, adding the Philippine government hopes that the legal step it has taken “shall bring this dispute to a durable solution.” “We are all for improving our economic relations with China but it should not be at the expense of surrendering our national sovereignty,” he said. In the note handed by Filipino diplomats to the Chinese ambassador, the Philippines listed several aggressive moves it alleged were launched by China in recent years to fortify its territorial claims, including the occupation of South China Sea islands and the enactment of a Chinese law that would allow Chinese patrol vessels to block and board foreign ships passing through vast stretches of waters that Beijing claims. The Philippines hopes that the arbitration to be done by an “arbitral tribunal” that operates under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea would lead to a decision that will direct China “to respect our sovereign rights and jurisdiction over” internationally-recognized territorial waters. Chinese officials did not immediately comment on the Philippine move, which del Rosario said was made independent of its treaty-ally Washington. China claims virtually all of the South China Sea and has confronted Philippine ships in a standoff over the Scarborough Shoal, which both countries claim. The Philippines withdrew ships from the shoal last June and has since protested China’s buildup. Many have feared that the territorial conflicts could spark Asia’s next major armed conflict, although all of six claimant countries involved in the disputes, including China and the Philippine, have declared they would not resort to military force to buttress their claims. AP