SYDNEY: While tensions continue to rise in the South China Sea with steady military build-up by all sides, especially by China, a new pathway may be opening for peaceful resolution of the territorial disputes. The Arbitral Tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration will soon announce whether it has jurisdiction to rule on the Philippines’ […]
China’s rapid construction of a string of artificial islands in the South China Sea has entered a more troubling phase. According to a major Pentagon report released last week, Beijing is shifting its focus from land reclamation to building deepwater ports, military-grade airstrips and other strategic infrastructure on top of its islands. While it’s unclear […]
MANILA, Philippines – The Arbitral Tribunal of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague, Netherlands released the full transcript of the oral hearings on the territorial disputes in the West Philippine Sea as requested by the Philippines. Last July, the Philippines sent a delegation composed of top executives from the three government branches as […]
Two and a half years ago, the Philippines took an unprecedented step to shake up the territorial dispute roiling the waters of the South China Sea. For years, six nations – including the Philippines and China –have wrestled over control of a smattering of islands and reefs dotting the oceanic expanse. At times, the dispute […]
The Global International Waters Assessment by the United Nations Environment Programme in 2005 identified the South China Sea as a large marine ecosystem with more than 2,500 species of marine fishes and 500 species of reef-building corals. The study also found enormously diverse platform reefs and atolls existing, most notably in the Spratly Islands, which […]
MANILA: The Philippines Sunday hailed what it termed growing international support for its efforts to counter China’s claims to most of the South China Sea. The comments from a presidential spokesman came as the U.S. Pacific Fleet released photographs of its commander in a surveillance flight over the sea, where tension is rising between Manila […]
Professor Philippe Sands QC is one of the foreign legal experts tapped by the Philippines to handle its case against China’s claims over parts of the West Philippine Sea. Sands is currently a barrister with Matrix Chambers in London, United Kingdom, where he practices international law focusing on maritime boundary disputes, international claims relating to […]
The Philippine government has hired foreign legal experts as its representatives in its case against China before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands. Answering criticisms, Malacañang argued that the country needs the help of these foreign experts who have “international reputation appearing before the tribunal.” Based on GMA News Online’s research, the […]
China urged the Philippines on Tuesday to ditch its attempt to solve South China Sea territorial disputes with an international tribunal and instead negotiate with Beijing directly, following the arbitration panel’s latest request for input from China. The Philippines has asked the tribunal in The Hague to declare China’s claims to virtually all the South […]
BEIJING — China yesterday rejected an invitation by The Hague to provide input for an arbitration case with the Philippines on overlapping claims in the South China Sea, with the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs issuing a sharp rebuke. “China has repeatedly expounded its position of not accepting or getting involved in these proceedings initiated […]