Philippines determined to reach arbitration over East Sea dispute

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

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 said on May 10 that the Philippines was determined to seek arbitration through the United Nations in its territorial dispute in the East Sea.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario

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

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

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 this process, we are trying to achieve a peaceful resolution of the maritime disputes.”

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

According to (Vietnam+) - DT