Philippines proposes bringing East Sea dispute to UN court

On July 11, Philippine Foreign Minister Albert del Rosario said he had officially asked Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi to jointly bring the East Sea conflict to the United Nations court for arbitration.

Reuters quoted Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario as saying that Manila had proposed bringing the dispute between them and Beijing to the United Nations International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea for adjudication, but had not received a response.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario gives an interview
in Beijing on July 8 - Photo: Reuters

"The Philippines is prepared to defend its position in accordance with international law, in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and we ask China if it is ready to do the same," del Rosario said.

Mr. Del Rosario also did not forget to reiterate that China had previously emphasized that they wanted to discuss the East Sea dispute bilaterally with the countries involved in the dispute and not bring the issue to international forums.

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea is an independent judicial body established by the United Nations to deal with disputes under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

(According to Tuoi Tre)