Philippines determined to reach arbitration over East Sea dispute

According to the South China Morning Post, in the latest developments related to the territorial dispute in the East Sea with China, Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario stated that seeking United Nations (UN) arbitration for this dispute is the "last resort" that Manila is forced to implement after China's encroachments.

However, Mr. Albert del Rosario affirmed that the door for bilateral negotiations remains open.

Speaking at a press conference in Manila, Foreign Secretary del Rosario on May 10 announced that the Philippines was determined to seek arbitration through the United Nations in the territorial sovereignty dispute in the East Sea.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario

“As we feared, the train has left the station,” Mr. Del Rosario said. “Either China will be on that train or they will not be on the train. However, as I said about compulsory arbitration, the ruling will be made whether China is there or not.”

However, even as the Philippines continues to push for UN arbitration, Del Rosario left the door open for an alternative solution. “I think we would be willing to consider bilateral discussions,” del Rosario stressed.

Foreign Secretary del Rosario revealed that one of the “direct reasons” for Manila to bring the case to the UN court was that China continued to commit maritime encroachments in disputed waters.

“Based on our latest intelligence reports, there are currently five Chinese vessels — four coast guard vessels and one fisheries patrol vessel — in the waters around Panatag Shoal, known internationally as Scarborough Shoal and known to China as Huangyan Island,” del Rosario said.

Foreign Secretary Del Rosario pointed out that bilateral consultations on the Scarborough Shoal dispute have been going on for 18 years. In addition, since tensions over the Scarborough Shoal dispute began to flare up more than a year ago, “we have actually had 45 bilateral consultations with China, but they have not been effective. And so, for us, an arbitration under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is the last resort in terms of a peaceful solution to this dispute.”

Mr. del Rosario also emphasized that the UN court was established on April 22, with a Sri Lankan judge appointed as Chairman of the Panel and judges from France, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland as members of the Panel.

According to Foreign Secretary del Rosario, these judges “are organizing themselves and setting the rules on how to proceed. They will consider whether the court has jurisdiction over this dispute. They will be ready to adjudicate our case.” According to Foreign Secretary del Rosario, this legal process could take 2-4 years.

The Philippines, Vietnam and Japan all have overlapping claims with China. “I think both Japan and Vietnam are very concerned about maritime security,” Del Rosario said. “So I think we can work together in terms of dialogue on how to achieve maritime security, how to ensure freedom of navigation and unimpeded commerce. These are issues that we have a reasonable basis for discussing.”

Asked how the Philippine government views China's new leadership and how its envoys are dealing with Manila, Foreign Secretary del Rosario said: “Our position is that we are looking to normalize our relations with China… and in that process, we are trying to achieve a peaceful resolution of the maritime disputes.”

China formally protested the UN arbitration on February 19. A Chinese diplomat told the South China Morning Post that Manila had made a mistake by asking the UN to arbitrate the long-running dispute because “we are not afraid of UNCLOS. Manila underestimated our understanding of their recklessness.”

According to (Vietnam+) - DT