RP files plea vs China in UN arbitral court The government yesterday filed a formal documents to the United Nations challenging Beijing’s claim to most of the South China Sea, defying Chinese warnings, a day after a dramatic maritime stand-off with the Asian giant. Foreign Sec-retary Albert del Rosario said Manila has filed the plea before a UN arbitration tribunal to declare China’s claims over the strategic and resource-rich waters as a violation of international law. “It is about defending what is legitimately ours. It is about securing our children’s future. It is about guaranteeing freedom of navigation for all nations,” he told a news conference. China’s claims over the South China Sea, believed to harbor vast oil and gas reserves, overlap those of the Philippines as well as Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan. The government announced last year that it will ask the United Nations to declare China’s claims over the area illegal under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The tribunal had given Manila until yesterday to submit its legal brief. Officials declined to discuss details of the pleadings called memorial nor provide a copy pending a review by the tribunal. Del Rosario said the memorial contains “ten volumes with maps,” has “nearly 4,000 pages,” and will strengthen the Philippines’ case. “(It) contains the Philippine analysis of the applicable law and the relevant evidence, and demonstrates that the arbitral tribunal has jurisdiction over all the claims made by the Philippines,” he said. Del Rosario stressed that “every claim is meritorious.”“It sets out the specific relief sought by the Philippines in regard to each of its claims, and shows why it is entitled to such relief,” he added. Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza said the incidents of harassment in Ayungin Shoal, a feature off Manila’s western coast facing the South China Sea, was included in the Philippine case. tribune.net.ph/headlines/rp-files-plea-vs-china-in-un-arbitral-court
Posted on: Sun, 30 Mar 2014 15:42:39 +0000
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