US study backs Phl tack on sea row

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines welcomed yesterday the release of a publication by the US government in which the latter described China’s territorial claim in the South China Sea as not in accord with international law.

“The study’s factual account and analyses support the Philippines’ position on the need for peaceful clarification of maritime entitlements in the South China Sea, which the Philippines is seeking through third-party arbitration under UNCLOS,” the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement. UNCLOS stands for United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

“Studies such as the one produced by US Department of State contribute to the substantive literature that supports the primacy and utility of the UNCLOS for the determination of maritime entitlements, and the peaceful settlement of maritime disputes,” the DFA said.

The Philippines said it continues to advocate for a peaceful and rules-based settlement of disputes in accordance with international law.

The State Department’s analysis of Beijing’s South China Sea claims is focused on China’s expansive nine-dash line.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, rejecting claims to parts of it from Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei. It also has a dispute with Japan over islands in the East China Sea.

China has long rejected arbitration, insisting it would resolve disputes bilaterally.

On March 30, the Philippines submitted to an arbitral tribunal at The Hague a nearly 4,000-page memorial detailing its arguments and evidence against China’s nine-dash line and other aspects of Beijing’s expansive and excessive claims in the West Philippine Sea. The tribunal gave China until Dec. 15 this year to present its counter-memorial.

Beijing, however, has refused to participate in the proceedings.

The Philippines maintains that the core issue is China’s claim of “indisputable sovereignty” over nearly the entire South China Sea as represented by its nine-dash line.

On hold

Meanwhile, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said it is putting on hold all its development plans in the country’s regime of islands but will sustain its routine monitoring and law enforcement activities. – With Jaime Laude