Phl wants int’l tribunal to rule quickly on China row

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine government is planning to request the international arbitration tribunal to issue a decision as quickly as it can on its complaint questioning the legality of China’s massive territorial claims in the South China Sea because the disputes continue to escalate.

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said late Tuesday that the Philippines would ask its lawyers to petition the Arbitral Tribunal in The Hague to issue an earlier ruling after China said it would not get involved in the case, which should shorten the arbitration proceedings.

Del Rosario added they are also studying whether to ask the Netherlands-based tribunal to ask China to stop its constructions and other expansion activities in the disputed waters while it is hearing the case.

“I am hoping we could get something by next year... because China is not participating and because the situation is getting worse every day in the South China Sea,” Del Rosario said.

After China took effective control of a disputed shoal, the Philippines early last year started the tribunal process that questioned the validity under international law of China’s so-called “nine-dash line” claim, a rough demarcation of its territory on its official maps that virtually envelopes most of the South China Sea.

In a memorial or written argument submitted before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague last March 30, the Philippines presented its arguments and evidence against China’s nine-dash line and other aspects of Beijing’s expansive and excessive maritime claims in the region.

Philippine officials have said it may take three to four years for the tribunal to issue a decision.

Even with the pending legal challenge, China has continued to expand and fortify its claims, including reclaiming land in disputed reefs that can be turned into offshore military bases, possibly with airstrips, Del Rosario said.

Del Rosario on Monday said the Philippines wants to initiate talks on a moratorium on construction activities in the disputed territories in the South China Sea with the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and other claimant-countries.

“We ought to maybe consider getting together and freezing all activities that escalate tension. Let’s call for a moratorium in terms of activities that escalate tension,” Del Rosario said in an interview with ANC.

He said the proposed moratorium could be brought up in a special ASEAN ministerial meeting proposed by Indonesia.

Asked if the Philippines plans to ask the tribunal to order China to halt expansion activities while hearing Manila’s complaint, Del Rosario said: “There is a term called provisional measure and we’re looking into that. It’s a study that is in progress.”

A military official added that 10 to 12 Chinese vessels are now intruding into territories of the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea.

Col. Florante Falcis, assistant deputy chief of air staff for intelligence, said the number of Chinese vessels spotted in Philippine waters varies because of the ships’ movements.

“There are no permanent numbers because those ships come and go and I think the latest we have seen in the pictures, there are 10 to 12 Chinese vessels,” Falcis said.

Philippine Air Force chief Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Delgado said the number of Chinese ships deployed could be dependent on the activities being conducted in the area. 

“I’m not privy to the intentions of the foreign ships there,” Delgado said.

“In the whole of West Philippine Sea, there are 10 to 12 vessels but it also trickles down. There are at least three or four so it is not constant,” he added.

Maj. Gen. Edgar Fallorina, chief of air staff, said it is likely that China is improving the structures it had built in the disputed areas.

“We just have to look at the strategic level of what they are doing. Probably last year, you just found some structures in their area. Right now they are doing some dredging,” Fallorina said.

“By that observation alone you’ll probably come up with your own conclusion on what they intend to do,” he added.

China has been occupying disputed areas to assert its territorial claims, raising concerns among claimants who believe such actions violate international law.

It has built a garrison in Panganiban (Mischief) Reef off Palawan and has maintained its presence in Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal off Zambales.

China has also set up a naval blockade in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal to prevent the delivery of supplies to a grounded ship that serves as a Philippine military detachment.

The Asian superpower is also believed to be conducting reclamation in Mabini (Johnson South) Reef, Calderon (Cuarteron) and Gaven Reefs, areas well within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. – With AP, Alexis Romero, Delon Porcalla, Jaime Laude, Evelyn Macairan