Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo on Tuesday declared that the Philippines wants peace in the South China Sea but rejected any claims that undermine the 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) that favored Manila in its territorial dispute with Beijing.
Manalo said the arbitral award, which is an affirmation of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea’s (UNCLOS) dispute resolution mechanisms, ruled authoritatively that the historic “nine-dash line” claim of other countries “had no basis in law and is without legal effect.”
The country’s top diplomat did not name any country in particular, but the nine-dash line is used only by China to assert its claim over the waters.
Manalo said the arbitral award also “upheld the Philippines’ sovereign rights and jurisdiction in its exclusive economic zone.”
Citing the PCA ruling, Manalo branded as “unlawful” certain actions within the Philippine exclusive economic zone that violated the country’s sovereign rights.
These included the large-scale reclamation and construction of artificial islands that “caused severe environmental harm in violation of international conventions,” the large-scale harvesting of endangered marine species that “damaged the marine ecosystem,” and the actions taken since the commencement of the arbitration that “had aggravated the disputes.”
Manalo pointed out that the Arbitral Tribunal’s ruling on July 12, 2016 affirmed to the community of nations “that the rule of law prevails, and that stability, peace and progress can only be attained when founded on a rules-based legal order on the oceans, as it should be everywhere else.”
“The Award and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) are the twin anchors of the Philippines’ policy and actions on the West Philippine Sea,” he said on the 6th anniversary of the award on the South China Sea Arbitration.
He asserted that the findings of the award and the UNCLOS “are no longer within the reach of denial and rebuttal.”
He also said they “are conclusive as they are indisputable.”
“The award is final. We firmly reject attempts to undermine it; nay, even erase it from law, history and our collective memories. At the same time, we welcome the support of a growing list of countries for the award,” he said, adding that the award even benefits the entire family of nations.
This is because the Philippines does “not see it as directed at any other country, near or far.” Rather, it sees “it as it should be seen: as favoring all which are similarly situated by clarifying definitively a legal situation beyond the reach of arms to change.”
Manalo’s statement was far more assertive than those issued by the previous administration, which sought to avoid confrontation with China.
Meanwhile, the United States reaffirmed its commitment to come to the defense of the Philippines against any armed attack in the disputed waterways and rejected anew Beijing’s massive claim over the resource-rich waters.
The administration of President Joe Biden through US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated its commitment to defend the Philippines against any armed attack in the South China Sea.
Blinken urged China to stop aggressive and provocative acts in the South China Sea, warning that any attack on the Philippines will trigger a response from the US.
“The United States reaffirms its July 13, 2020, policy regarding maritime claims in the South China Sea. We also reaffirm that an armed attack on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft in the South China Sea would invoke US mutual defense commitments under Article IV of the 1951 US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty,” Blinken said in a statement.
The Philippines and the US have a 70-year-old Mutual Defense Treaty that binds America to defend its long-time Asian ally from external aggression.
Blinken was referring to the July 13, 2020 policy made by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, declaring support for the 2016 arbitral ruling and regards China’s sprawling maritime claims as illegitimate.
“We call again on the PRC (People’s Republic of China) to abide by its obligations under international law and cease its provocative behavior. We will continue to work with allies and partners, as well as regional institutions like ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), to protect and preserve the rules-based order,” Blinken said.
On July 12, 2016, the PCA in The Hague, Netherlands rendered a judgment in favor of the Philippine case it filed against China in 2013 and invalidated China’s claim over nearly the entire South China Sea as illegal.
China, which rejected the ruling as “ill-founded” and “naturally null and void”, does not recognize the legal award and insists indisputable historic rights over nearly the entire waters, which is dotted by clusters of islands, cays, shoals and reefs with rich fishing areas and natural oil and gas.
“Six years ago, an Arbitral Tribunal constituted under the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention delivered a unanimous decision, which is final and binding on the Philippines and the PRC. In its ruling, the Tribunal firmly rejected the PRC’s expansive South China Sea maritime claims as having no basis in international law,” Blinken said.
“The Tribunal also stated that the PRC has no lawful claim to the areas determined by the Arbitral Tribunal to be part of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and continental shelf,” the US official said.
According to Blinken, the US and its Indo-Pacific allies and partners “are committed to preserving a system where goods, ideas, and people flow freely across land, sky, cyberspace, and the open seas.”
He said such a system “benefits all countries, big and small.”
“Preserving a free and open South China Sea governed by international law, as reflected in the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention, is part of this shared vision.”
While the US is not a party to the disputes, the US maintained that keeping the South China Sea — a major trade route — open and accessible is within its national interest.
This year, the State Department released Limits in the Seas No. 150—the latest study in a series examining coastal state maritime claims and their consistency with international law—which concluded that China’s maritime claims “remain plainly inconsistent with international law.”
Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez said China and the maritime dispute in the South China Sea remain as the biggest foreign policy challenges for the Philippines amid Beijing’s growing assertiveness.
The Philippines has lodged a series of protests against provocative Chinese actions in the West Philippine Sea, where China blocked Filipino resupply missions and sent 200 of its militia vessels to swarm a reef within the country’s waters.
Romualdez said that the best way forward is still diplomacy, but warned that the Philippines “is prepared to deter aggression.”
“Our foreign and security policies must not only be clear and cohesive, they must also be adaptive and resilient to potential threats, driven by national interests,” he said in a forum on the anniversary of the arbitral ruling in Makati City.
A huge majority of Filipinos said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. must assert the country’s rights in the South China Sea amid continuing reports of Chinese aggression in areas within Philippine waters and exclusive economic zones.
A survey conducted by Pulse Asia from June 24-27 showed 89 percent of Filipinos across the country said Marcos should affirm its rights in the waters as stipulated in the 2016 arbitral tribunal ruling.
The survey, commissioned by Stratbase-ADR Institute, had a sample size of 1,200 respondents with +/-2.8 error margin.
The findings were released Tuesday during the Stratbase-ADRI Institute forum on the sixth anniversary of the arbitral tribunal’s ruling.
The survey also found that 90 percent of Filipinos from all socio-economic classes want the new administration to invest in the capability of the Philippine Navy and Philippine Coast Guard to protect the country’s territory and marine resources in its EEZ. With Gabriellea B. Parino and Chelsea Din
