The Philippines has submitted an unprecedented international arbitration claim against China's "nine-dash-line" in contested waters of the South China Sea. The “Memorial in international law” was presented to the Arbitral Tribunal of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) in The Hague on Sunday.
Manila urged the five-judge UN tribunal to invalidate China’s nine-dash-line, which Beijing uses to claim almost all of the South China Sea as part of its territory. Apart from the Philippines and Japan, many other Southeast Asian nations are also involved in maritime disputes with China, mainly regarding the South China Sea.
Both the Philippines and China are participants in Unclos, the UN organ which is used to settle disputes over overlapping sea claims. It states that a sovereign nation has claims over waters reaching 320 kilometres (200 miles) off the coast.
Manila has argued that the nine-dash-line is invalid, since it stretches to 50-80 kilometres (30-50 miles) from the Philippines, cutting into their exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf. Manila says it will lose 80 percent of its EEZ in waters off the western Philippines, including areas containing huge oil and gas deposits.
China, however, has been blatantly ignoring the international laws set by Unclos. Just last month, the Scarborough Shoal was the scene of another conflict, when a Chinese coastguard vessel fired water cannons at Philippine fishermen to drive them away.
On Saturday, journalists on board a Philippine ship reported Chinese coast guard vessels trying to block access to the disputed Second Thomas Shoal (known as Ayungin in Manila and Ren'ai Reef in Beijing). The Chinese ship sent a message over the radio, warning they were entering Chinese territory. "We order you to stop immediately, stop all illegal activities and leave." They further demanded the Philippine crew to turn around or “take full responsibility” for their actions.
Two weeks ago, Manila made a formal complaint to Beijing after a similar incident when Chinese vessels succeeded in blocking a resupply mission to the shoal.
The island nation is now taking further actions in submitting the almost 4,000 page memorial. It is unclear how China will respond, as it has previously refused to participate in the case, saying it was “unilaterally initiated” by Manila.
Albert Del Rosario, the Philippines’ foreign secretary said that usually “the next step in an arbitration of this nature would be the filing of a counter-memorial by the other party. However, it is currently unknown whether China will appear in the case, or whether it will continue its present policy of abstaining from the proceedings.”
Last week, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said China hoped that the Philippines was “fully aware of the complexity and sensitivity of the South China Sea issue”. He urged Manila to “return to the right track of resolving the dispute through negotiation and consultation as soon as possible [and] stop going any further down the wrong track so as to avoid further damage to bilateral relations”.
[Image via Flickr]
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