Court to rule soon on Philippines' lawsuit against China

Philippine Foreign Minister Albert del Rosario said on October 30 that the United Nations Arbitration Court, based in The Hague (Netherlands), will soon issue a ruling on Manila's lawsuit against Beijing regarding territorial disputes in the East Sea.

In an interview with ANC television, Foreign Minister Rosario said the Philippines hopes the United Nations Arbitral Tribunal will issue a ruling in the first quarter of 2016 and "this ruling will clarify the Philippines' maritime rights in the East Sea, thereby paving the way for the settlement of disputes."

Be wary of illegal maps issued by China. (Source: CCTV)

In January 2013, the Philippines filed a lawsuit with the United Nations Arbitral Tribunal asking for the rejection of the “nine-dash line” map used by China to claim sovereignty and territory over about 80% of the South China Sea.

In March this year, the Philippines submitted to the court a 4,000-page legal dossier, including many evidences and maps, to prove its request and convince the court to rule that China's map claiming sovereignty over the East Sea is invalid.

China has repeatedly stated that it will not participate in the above lawsuit and believes that the parties involved should negotiate directly with each other. However, the UN Arbitration Court still asked China to provide documents to refute the Philippines' arguments before December 15, 2014.

According to Foreign Minister Rosario, even if China does not meet the above request, the court can still issue a ruling on the lawsuit./.

According to VNA