In Argentina, Philippines presents position on disputed sea

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Embassy in Argentina presented the country's position on the disputed West Philippine Sea amid contesting claims with China.

Speaking at the Argentine Council on International Relations on August 4, Philippine Ambassador to Argentina Maria Amelita Aquino said the core issue in the dispute is China's claim of "indisputable sovereignty" over waters and features within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.

Aquino said that China's sweeping take on the waterway marked with a "nine-dash" line, which the Asian power claims to have historical basis, overlaps with the Philippines' jurisdiction under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea or UNCLOS. Her presentation came ahead of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) ministerial meetings joined by the United States in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar.

She also explained the Philippines' efforts to peacefully engage with China and settle the longstanding dispute through political and diplomatic avenues, most recently with the filing of an arbitration case before the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea.

The resort to arbitration, she said, is that last among many mechanism that did not provide satisfactory results.

Aquino noted that the Manila will work with fellow ASEAN countries on the full and effective implementation of the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, which China also signed.

A legally binding Code of Conduct will also be pursued, Aquino said.