I have written repeatedly about the need to resolve the West Philippines Sea dispute with China through litigation. At the time when the Department of Foreign Affairs was still debating internally on whether to submit the issue to arbitration or resolve it through diplomacy, I was already arguing that arbitration was the only option given […]
China has made three reservations to the compulsory and binding dispute settlement procedure of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Of these, only two appear to be relevant to the Philippine arbitral submission against China involving the West Philippine Sea. The first, a reservation on maritime delimitation, does not appear to be […]
Sino-Japanese relations do not look promising at the moment. Obviously, the Diaoyu-Senkaku dispute is not the only factor in play, but it does focus nationalist passions on both sides. Yet both countries are capable of wiser conduct if their leaders can manage to rise above the dangerous temptations to beat military drums. As China and […]
All parties with territorial disputes over the South China Sea should have “realistic expectations” and take “a gradual approach” to a proposed code of conduct aimed at defusing maritime tensions in the region, China’s foreign minister said in Hanoi yesterday. Wang Yi , who wraps up a six-day visit to four South East Asian countries […]
MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed yesterday that unmanned US Navy surveillance planes conduct patrols to help monitor activities in Philippine waters, particularly in the South China Sea. DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez said US drones fly over Philippine waters during joint military exercises with the United States. Hernandez said the joint […]
The Philippines has protested China’s recent publication of a new “10-dash line” map that places sprawling offshore territories it claims within Beijing’s “national boundaries,” officials said Friday. In a confidential June 7, 2013 note verbale handed to the Chinese Embassy in Manila, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said it “protests the reference to those […]
By Raïssa Robles With the continuous incursions of Chinese ships into Philippine waters, a friend recently told me she is seriously thinking of migrating to another country. China might invade the Philippines, she said. When, she doesn’t know, but she said she’d rather go while still young and able to. While I see an actual […]
Asia Society / LKY SPP Conference South China Sea: Central to Asia – Pacific Peace and Security New York, March 13-15, 2013 Panel 3. Roles of International Law and Governance On 22 January 2013, the Philippines officially notified China that it had instituted arbitral proceedings against China under Annex VII of the 1982 United Nations […]
The way the Chinese are ranting, they must be all riled up with recent adverse developments. In their distorted perception, Chinese officials accused the Philippines of being “a troublemaker and unsettling the stability of the region.” Read more: http://manilastandardtoday.com/2013/07/20/feeling-the-heat/
BRUSSELS – The Philippines’ top diplomat has underscored that the arbitral proceedings initiated by Manila to challenge China’s excessive maritime claims do not undermine the consultations between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Beijing for the crafting of a Code of Conduct (COC) on the South China Sea. Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del […]