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| President Rodrigo Duterte |
By Mikas Matsuzawa
MANILA, Philippines — A top security analyst warned that dropping a reference to the South China Sea ruling on the draft Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) chairman's statement of President Rodrigo Duterte contributes to the weakening of international law.
An excerpt of the updated version of the draft acquired by media did not directly mention China or the award in the case brought by the Aquino administration against Beijing in 2013. The United Nations-backed ruling issued last year voided China's claim to virtually the entire South China Sea.
Key wording mentioning "respect for legal and diplomatic processes" was removed. The phrase is code for the arbitral tribunal proceedings and the award, Southeast Asia security expert Carlyle Alan Thayer, director of Thayer Consultancy, said. Instead, the phrase was replaced with: "respect for the full supremacy of the law."
Thayer said that Duterte as Philippine president is legally responsible for complying with the award along with China.
"Duterte thus contributes to weakening international law by avoiding this issue," he said.
Read the full story at PhilStar