Philippine House Rep Harry Roque, an International Law Expert has said that if China will keep forcing its dominance in the South China Sea, the Philippines can go for vote of the UN General Assembly for authorizing sanctions against Beijing -reports First Post.
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China warned its rivals on Wednesday against turning the South China Sea into a “cradle of war” and threatened to create an air defense zone, after its claims to the strategically vital waters were declared invalid.
The Philippines has said that Beijing should respect an worldwide tribunal’s ruling that rejected Chinese claims to most of the South China Sea, adding that it will raise the issue at a regional summit.
The South China Sea issue should be solved through bilateral negotiations by relevant parties on the basis of historical facts and in accordance with worldwide law and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said here Thursday. The Court ruled in favor of the Philippine case on all five points brought up in their case.
“Whether we need to set up one in the South China Sea depends on the level of threat we perceive”, he said.
The Philippines’ unilateral initiation of arbitration is “an act of bad faith”, said the whitepaper. But it holds up norms and, in the present instance, China comes across as a violator of norms.
“If anyone wants to take any provocative action against China’s security interests based on the award, China will make a decisive response”, foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said.
China is also building its fifth lighthouse on the Sprtalys, at a time when the Philippines and other United States allies have been expressing alarm over its maritime expansion in the sea, which they suspect is aimed at extending its military reach. Mr. Duterte has said he wants to improve relations with China – which soured under previous President Benigno Aquino because of the application to the tribunal – and would seek Chinese investment in the Philippines.
It also found that China had no legal basis to claim the resources within its so called “nine-dash” line.
On January 22, 2013, the Philippines filed a lawsuit with the PCA against China’s claims to sovereign right, jurisdiction and historic rights over waters within the nine-dash line, which run counter to the 1982 UNCLOS and exceed the limits of China’s maritime entitlements under the convention.
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Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia believes the territorial dispute in the South China Sea can be peacefully resolved through diplomatic and legal processes.
