DFA chief: UN body to decide on jurisdiction over PHL case vs. China by July

April 26, 2013 10:23pm


The Philippines on Friday said it expects the United Nations arbitration body to decide if it has jurisdiction over its case against China in July.

"We also expect very soon the arbitration tribunal to ascertain whether they have jurisdiction [over the case],” said Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario at a briefing in Malacañang. “By July, this will have been determined.”

Del Rosario made the statement a day after the DFA announced that the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) has completed the five-man tribunal that will hear the case.

Del Rosario said for the meantime, the tribunal will have to decide among themselves on what rules will govern the body.

Manila took a bold step last January when it initiated an arbitration process under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to try to declare as “illegal” China’s nine-dash claim, which covers nearly the entire resource-rich waters, where some parts are called West Philippine Sea by the Philippines.

At Friday's briefing, Del Rosario said members of the ASEAN have finally agreed to press harder for China to cooperate with the formulation of a Code of Conduct on the South China Sea.

“I think the fundamental elements had been crystallized so I think, we are moving from that point,” he said, as he described ASEAN as “solid.”

“To begin with, ASEAN is solid. We are saying to China that we need to do this, we need to ensure that these instruments are being properly implemented and being discussed so that we can ensure ourselves of the peace and security, and stability, which is necessary for the continued prosperity of the region,” Del Rosario said. — Patricia Denise Chiu/KBK, GMA News