Sat, Oct 31, 2015 page1

• In defeat for China, Hague court to hear S China Sea dispute

  • Reuters, AMSTERDAM
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  In a legal setback for Beijing, an arbitration court in the Netherlands on Thursday ruled that it has jurisdiction to hear some territorial claims the Philippines has filed against China over disputed areas in the South China Sea.

  Manila filed the case in 2013 to seek a ruling on its right to exploit the South China Sea waters in its 200-nautical mile (370.4km) exclusive economic zone (EEZ) as allowed under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

  The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration rejected Beijing’s claim that the disputes were about territorial sovereignty and said additional hearings would be held to decide the merits of the Philippines’ arguments.

  China has boycotted the proceedings and rejects the court’s authority in the case. Beijing claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, dismissing claims to all or parts of it from Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.

  The tribunal found it had authority to hear seven of Manila’s submissions under the UNCLOS and China’s decision not to participate did “not deprive the tribunal of jurisdiction.”

  The Beijing government, facing international legal scrutiny for the first time over its assertiveness in the South China Sea, would neither participate in nor accept the case, Chinese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Liu Zhenmin (劉振民) told reporters.

  “The result of this arbitration will not impact China’s sovereignty, rights or jurisdiction over the South China Sea under historical facts and international law,” Liu said.

  “From this ruling you can see the Philippines’ aim in presenting the case is not to resolve the dispute. Its aim is to deny China’s rights in the South China Sea and confirm its own rights in the South China Sea,” Liu said.

  The Philippine government welcomed the decision.

  Solicitor General Florin Hilbay, the Philippines’ chief lawyer in the case, said the ruling represented a “significant step forward in the Philippines’ quest for a peaceful, impartial resolution of the disputes between the parties and the clarification of their rights under UNCLOS.”

  Bonnie Glaser, a South China Sea expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, called the outcome “a major blow for China given that the opinion explicitly rejects China’s arguments that ... the Philippines has not done enough to negotiate the issues with China.”

  The US welcomed the decision, a senior US defense official said.

  “It shows that judging issues like this on the basis of international law and international practice are a viable way of, at a minimum, managing territorial conflicts if not resolving them,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

  Another US official said the tribunal’s decision undercut China’s claims under the so-called nine-dashed line that takes in about 90 percent of the 3.5 million square kilometer South China Sea on Chinese maps.

  “You can’t say that the nine-dashed line is indisputable anymore because by acknowledging jurisdiction here the court has made clear that there is indeed a dispute,” said the official, who asked not to be named. “To my mind, this announcement drives a stake through the heart of the nine-dashed line.”
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