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Philippines' UNCLOS arbitration nothing but PR stunt
Last Updated: 2014-04-01 09:10 | CE.cn
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By Li Hongmei

Manila submitting its disputes with China to UNCLOS arbitration is part of its larger ambition to rally international opinion, and none other than yet another PR stunt to churn up the South China Sea.

As expected, Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Albert del Rosario announced Sunday that the Philippines has submitted a memorial seeking a ruling on China's "nine dash line" from the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.

According to Rosario, the memorial is nearly 4,000 pages in length, including Manila's analysis of applicable laws, the "specific relief sought by the Philippines," and documentary evidence and maps designed to back up Philippine claims. Rosario ended his statement by saying:

Philippine leaders knew that China would not participate in the arbitration process by submitting a counter-claim, making a Philippine victory much more likely. While such a ruling would do nothing to change the situation on the ground, it would be a PR victory for the Philippines, allowing Manila to claim its position is internationally sanctioned.

But the UNCLOS arbitration is only one part of the Philippines strategy. There have also been more pointed attempts to court international journalists.

Earlier this year, President Benigno Aquino held a 90-minute interview with journalists in the Presidential Palace. During the interview, he compared China to World War II-era Germany, with the Philippines playing the part of Czechoslovakia. Accordingly, he argued against appeasing China by giving in to its territorial demands. "At what point do you say, 'Enough is enough'? Well, the world has to say it - remember that the Sudetenland was given in an attempt to appease Hitler to prevent World War II," Aquino said.

The Philippines has made other outreaches to foreign journalists, including involving them directly in a confrontation over disputed territories. Reuters reported that international media members were invited aboard a Philippine ship transporting supplies to a "military outpost" on the disputed Ren'ai Reef. After successfully avoiding the Chinese ships blockading the reef, the Philippine captain told Reuters, "If we didn't change direction, if we didn't change course, then we would have collided with them."

Journalists also noted that, during the voyage, aircraft from the U.S., the Philippines, and China all flew above the Philippine boat. In addition to providing a chance for the Philippine government to showcase its claims, the inclusion of journalists may also have prevented a stronger Chinese response to the Philippine supply run.

China responded angrily to each of these stunts. Most recently, in Monday's press conference, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei denounced the "reporting trip" to the reef as "a deliberately schemed activity with the purpose of further hyping up the issue of the Ren'ai Reef ... serving its attempt to illegally snatch the Ren'ai Reef which is China's territory."

Hong added, "China will by no means allow the Philippine side to seize the Ren'ai Reef in any form, nor will China allow it to build facilities on the Ren'ai Reef in defiance of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC). The Philippine side will have to take the consequences caused by its provocative actions."

On Sunday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei also issued a special statement on the Philippine request for arbitration. First, Hong reiterated China's position that "China has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and their adjacent waters." "No matter how the Philippine memorial is packaged," Hong said, "the direct cause of the dispute between China and the Philippines is the latter's illegal occupation of some of China's islands and reefs in the South China Sea."

Hong also repeated China's opposition to international arbitration over these issues, given China's preference for "direct negotiations with countries concerned." Hong argued that, by submitting the case for arbitration, the Philippines was in violation of previous agreements to solve issues bilaterally, including the 2002 ASEAN Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.

"China urges the Philippines to comprehensively and effectively implement the consensus repeatedly reaffirmed between the two sides and the DOC, and return to the right track of settling the disputes through bilateral negotiations," Hong concluded.

Manila told of China's arbitration opposition

China summoned the Philippines ambassador yesterday to lodge a strong complaint over Manila's seeking international arbitration in a territorial dispute over the South China Sea.

The Philippines filed the case against China on Sunday at an arbitration tribunal in The Hague.

Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin told Philippine Ambassador Erlinda Basilio that China was "extremely dissatisfied and resolutely opposed" to the case, saying China did not accept it and would not take part.

"The Philippines forcing of international arbitration is not conducive towards resolving the Sino-Philippine dispute over the South China Sea," Liu said.

"The move will not change the fact that China has sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and adjacent waters, nor will it shake the Chinese government's will and resolution to safeguard territorial sovereignty, maritime rights and interests," he added.

The only way to address the issue was through bilateral talks, he said.

On Saturday, the Philippines sent a ship to the Ren'ai Reef in the South China Sea and Liu also lodged representations with the Philippine side over that trip.

He said China would never allow the Philippines to occupy the Ren'ai Reef in any form or to succeed in building facilities there, and urged a halt to all provocation.

The Philippines grounded a warship near the Ren'ai Reef in 1999. In a recent statement, the Philippine side claimed the stranded warship had served as a permanent installation since then.

The Philippines has repeatedly attempted to deliver construction materials to build on the reef.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino, speaking to reporters in Manila, said he was not seeking confrontation.

"We are not here to challenge China, to provoke them into any action, but I do believe that they should recognise we have the right to defend our own interests," he said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said that by pushing forward international arbitration, the Philippines were attempting to disguise their illegal occupation of Chinese territory. (source: Xinhua)

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