By Shannon Tiezzi
Before an arbitral tribunal, the Philippines’ foreign secretary slams China’s actions in the South China Sea.
On Monday, the Philippines finished presenting its arguments on the South China Sea issue before an international tribunal in The Hague. The Philippines, as Diplomat readers know, filed an arbitration case against China on the South China Sea issue in 2013, seeking clarity on the legality of China’s nine-dash line, the status of certain features in the South China Sea, and the Philippines’ own maritime rights in the disputed region. Arguments on the merits of the case opened on November 24.
On November 30, Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Albert del Rosario wrapped up the Philippine position in his concluding remarks. In the speech, del Rosario praised the power of international law to bring clarity to the disputes. He also accused China of “failing” to uphold international law.
“China’s unilateral actions, and the atmosphere of intimidation they have created, are… trampling upon the rights and interests of the peoples of Southeast Asia and beyond,” del Rosario said.
The Philippines, as I’ve written before, frames its arbitration case as a test for the principle of “right vs. might.” That rhetoric was on full display in del Rosario’s speech, as he defended Manila’s use of arbitration “to provide all parties a durable, rules-based solution.”
China has criticized the arbitration process as “a political provocation under the cloak of law,” as Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying put it on Tuesday. “China will not accept any solution imposed on it or any unilateral resort to a third-party dispute settlement,” Hua said, predicting that the case “will lead to nothing.”
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