The court will soon issue a ruling on the case filed by the Philippines against China.

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

In an interview with ANC television, Foreign Minister Rosario said the Philippines hopes the United Nations Arbitration Tribunal will issue a ruling in the first quarter of 2016 and that “this ruling will clarify the Philippines’ maritime rights in the South China Sea, thereby paving the way for the resolution of disputes.”

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

In January 2013, the Philippines filed a lawsuit with the United Nations Arbitration Court seeking to reject China's "nine-dash line" map, which claims sovereignty and territory over approximately 80% of the South China Sea.

In March of this year, the Philippines submitted a 4,000-page legal dossier to the court, including numerous pieces of evidence and maps, to support its claim and persuade the court to rule that China's map asserting sovereignty in the South China Sea is invalid.

China has repeatedly stated that it will not participate in the aforementioned lawsuit and that the parties involved should negotiate directly with each other. However, the United Nations Arbitration Tribunal still requested China to provide documents refuting the Philippines' arguments by December 15, 2014.

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

According to VNA