SEOUL, July 1 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines has disregarded its legal duty in international law by unilaterally bringing the case of South China Sea dispute to The Hague, which has no jurisdiction over issues of territorial sovereignty, a South Korean law professor said.
"The Philippines disregarded all of its legal duties in international law and, unilaterally brought the dispute before the (Arbitration) Court even without consideration of the 1992 Declaration," Kim Hyun Soo, law school professor in South Korea's Inha University and visiting professor of China's Wuhan University, said in an interview with Xinhua on Thursday.
According to Kim, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members signed the ASEAN Declaration on the South China Sea in 1992, declaring that they shall use friendly consultations and negotiations to resolve territorial disputes.
In 2002, ASEAN members and China signed a political statement known as the Declaration on Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), confirming the friendly negotiations contained in the 1992 declaration.
The Philippines is required to proceed to an exchange of views, the professor said, to settle the dispute through negotiations or other peaceful means in the UN Convention on the Law of Sea (UNCLOS), but the Southeast Asian country took the unilateral action, which is not in line with the international agreement between China and ASEAN members in 2002.
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