On arbitration victory anniv, former Solgen Jardeleza proposes new cases vs China

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has lots of options to assert its sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea, as a retired Supreme Court justice broached the idea of taking China to court again.

Wednesday marked the seventh anniversary of the Philippines scoring a victory against China, as the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled seven years ago in favor of the country’s sovereignty in parts of the South China Sea.

The PCA found that China's nine-dash-line claim had no legal basis under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Former SC Associate Justice Francis Jardeleza told journalists on Wednesday that the next moves on the contested territories will depend on President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

As it is, the Philippine president is considered the chief architect of the country’s foreign policy.

Jardeleza held a screening for a documentary, "Beyond the Horizon: The Continuing Quest for Justice in the West Philippine Sea", that dissected the country’s 2016 victory against China on Wednesday.

“Under all circumstances, another one before another ad-hoc tribunal constituted under the UNCLOS or perhaps International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, but managed solely by the Office of the Solicitor General of the Philippines, without the heavy cost of hiring foreign counsel,” he said in the documentary.

Jardeleza was part of the legal team of the former Aquino administration that took China to court. As it is, the process of lodging a case at the international tribunal proved to be laborious. The Aquino administration tapped the services of Foley & Hoag LLP and Paul Reichler, an international law litigator, of the case.

Jardeleza, who was solicitor general at the time the case was filed, said in the documentary that taking a case surrounding the territorial disputes to the United Nations could ultimately prove fruitless.

“If we go to the UN, we have to contend with the veto power of China in the UN Security Council. While we can go before the general assembly of the UN to debate China’s action and possibly get majority support or vote, this would still not be binding as far as China is concerned,” Jardeleza said.

The legal victory has rung hollow at times since Beijing refused to acknowledge or even participate in the case. Despite the ruling, Chinese vessels has been entering the West Philippine Sea, the part of the South China Sea within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.

The international tribunal’s decision recognized the country’s declaration for rights, without suing China for damages in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone in the West Philippine Sea.

China has repeatedly flexed their stature as an economic and military power, by harassing fishermen, building illegal structures and fishing in Philippine waters. The Philippines and China have committed to resolving issues in the South China Sea through dialogue and have announced that they would put up a direct line between parties to manage issues in the tense waters.

The relations between the two countries seesawed throughout the Duterte administration, which came to power in 2016. The former President Rodrigo Duterte made countless overtures on his pro-China stance, making headway in moving the country’s foreign policy away from Washington and closer towards Beijing.

The pro-China approach scored some brownie points, as the economic powerhouse promised infrastructure investments to the Philippines. The shift, marked by Duterte’s several visits to China, was capped by a state visit from China’s Xi Jinping in 2018.

In Jardeleza’s eyes, the OSG could mount another case such as seeking for damages or “other provisional reliefs” against China, even if it takes years. The current solicitor general is Menardo Gueverra, who was also part of the Aquino administration’s legal team that won the arbitration case.

“We have to move the envelope from where we were seven years ago…China is not thinking of seven years, they’re thinking of 1,000 years,” Jardeleza told reporters.