Philippines to bring South China Sea dispute with Beijing to tribunal

Manila fires shot across China's bows with move to bring both countries' conflicting claims on potentially oil-rich waters to UN

The Philippines has taken a legal step to counter China's claims to virtually the entire South China Sea, formally notifying Beijing that it is seeking international arbitration to declare Chinese moves in the potentially oil-rich waters "illegal and invalid".

The Filipino foreign secretary, Albert del Rosario, said at a news conference on Tuesday that the Chinese ambassador, Ma Keqing, had been handed a note notifying the Chinese government that Manila is bringing both countries' conflicting claims to an international tribunal.

The move is likely to bring an angry response from China, the Philippines' third-largest trading partner.

Several countries claim parts of the South China Sea, but China claims virtually all of it. It has confronted Filipino ships in a standoff over the Scarborough shoal, which both countries claim. The Philippines withdrew ships from the shoal last June and has since protested China's buildup.

There are fears that territorial conflicts in the region, including a dispute between Japan and China in the East China Sea, could spark Asia's next major armed conflict.

The Philippines hopes that arbitration through a tribunal operating under the 1982 United Nations convention on the law of the sea would lead to a decision that would direct China to respect its claims. But even if a tribunal ruled against China, Beijing could choose to simply ignore the ruling.

Del Rosario said the Philippines made the move after previous diplomatic efforts to resolve the territorial rifts failed.

"The Philippines has exhausted almost all political and diplomatic avenues for a peaceful negotiated settlement of its maritime disputes with China," he said. He added the Philippine government hoped that its legal move would "bring this dispute to a durable solution".

"We are all for improving our economic relations with China but it should not be at the expense of surrendering our national sovereignty," he said.

The Chinese foreign ministry in Beijing did not immediately comment, asking that questions be submitted by fax.

In the note handed to the Chinese ambassador, the Philippines listed several aggressive moves it alleged were launched by China in recent years to fortify its territorial claims, including the occupation of South China Sea islands and the enactment of a law to allow Chinese patrol vessels to block and board foreign ships passing through vast stretches of waters that Beijing claims.

Del Rosario said the Philippines' move was made independently of its ally the United States, which has called for a peaceful resolution of the claims and a guarantee that freedom of navigation would not be hindered.

Other countries clashing with China over South China Sea territory, including Vietnam, could benefit from Manila's action without risking possible Chinese retaliatory steps.

Dipetik dari - The Guardian