By Shannon Tiezzi
After winning a victory on the issue of jurisdiction, Manila moves to arguments about the merits of its case.
On Tuesday, an arbitral tribunal in The Hague began hearing arguments on the merits of the Philippines’ case against China’s South China Sea claims. The tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration will hold the first rounds of arguments on the merits of the case from November 24 to 30.
This round of hearings comes after the tribunal considered arguments on the question of jurisdiction. Though China has consistently refused to take part in the arbitral proceedings, in December 2014 Beijing released a position paper holding that the tribunal does not have the jurisdiction to rule on the case. China reasoned that the issues raised in the Philippine case could not be considered without determining sovereignty, which the tribunal is not empowered to do.
Beijing was dealt a blow in late October when the tribunal largely ruled in the Philippines’ favor on the question of jurisdiction. That decision allows the case to move forward to arguments on the actual merits of the case (while simultaneously considering some outstanding questions of jurisdiction). The hearings this week are the first round of those arguments.
Read the full story at The Diplomat