Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario is in New York now.
The Department of Foreign Affairs yesterday released his statement saying,” In pursuing a peaceful settlement of the Scarborough Shoal issue, we fully intend to humbly invite our Chinese friends to join us in the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS).”
ITLOS was established to adjudicate conflict over the interpretation and implementation of the United Nations Convention of the Law which defines the rights and responsibilities of nations in their use of the world’s oceans.
Del Rosario said, “The purpose of the exercise will be to ascertain which of us has sovereign rights over the waters surrounding Scarborough Shoal where Chinese ships are currently engaging in illegal activities within the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
“ We are not sure if the Philippines will go ahead with bringing to ITLOS the issue of Scarborough Shoal even if China spurns its invitation, which we expect would happen. China, opted out of compulsory arbitration provided in UNCLOS.
But lawyer Harry Roque, who teaches public international law at the University of the Philippines, said it does not need the agreement of China for the issue on Scarborough Shoal, which is 124 nautical miles (therefore within the Philippines’ 200 NM exclusive economic zone) from Zambales, to be brought to the ITLOS because it involves the country’s sovereign rights.
Roque, in his article in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, differentiated the Spratlys issue from the Scarborough Shoal case. He said: “Scarborough Shoal is separate and distinct from the dispute over the disputed Spratly islands in the West Philippine Sea. This is because Scarborough Shoal presents issues that are less insurmountable than those arising from the dispute in the Spratlys.
“The difference between Scarborough Shoal and the Spratlys is both physical and legal. As a shoal, Scarborough does not involve conflicting claims to land territory. Accordingly, the Philippine claim to it may be resolved wholly on the basis of the United Nations’ Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos). And without a doubt, the Philippine claim to the area is superior because it falls within its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone. This gives us the exclusive right to explore and exploit the living resources in these waters. The Spratlys, on the other hand, and this is contrary to repeated declarations by the Department of Foreign Affairs, cannot be resolved wholly through the Unclos. The reason is obvious: The Unclos only deals with the sea and cannot be applied to disputed islands.
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The Department of Foreign Affairs yesterday released his statement saying,” In pursuing a peaceful settlement of the Scarborough Shoal issue, we fully intend to humbly invite our Chinese friends to join us in the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS).”
ITLOS was established to adjudicate conflict over the interpretation and implementation of the United Nations Convention of the Law which defines the rights and responsibilities of nations in their use of the world’s oceans.
Del Rosario said, “The purpose of the exercise will be to ascertain which of us has sovereign rights over the waters surrounding Scarborough Shoal where Chinese ships are currently engaging in illegal activities within the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
“ We are not sure if the Philippines will go ahead with bringing to ITLOS the issue of Scarborough Shoal even if China spurns its invitation, which we expect would happen. China, opted out of compulsory arbitration provided in UNCLOS.
But lawyer Harry Roque, who teaches public international law at the University of the Philippines, said it does not need the agreement of China for the issue on Scarborough Shoal, which is 124 nautical miles (therefore within the Philippines’ 200 NM exclusive economic zone) from Zambales, to be brought to the ITLOS because it involves the country’s sovereign rights.
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| Albert Del Rosario |
Roque, in his article in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, differentiated the Spratlys issue from the Scarborough Shoal case. He said: “Scarborough Shoal is separate and distinct from the dispute over the disputed Spratly islands in the West Philippine Sea. This is because Scarborough Shoal presents issues that are less insurmountable than those arising from the dispute in the Spratlys.
“The difference between Scarborough Shoal and the Spratlys is both physical and legal. As a shoal, Scarborough does not involve conflicting claims to land territory. Accordingly, the Philippine claim to it may be resolved wholly on the basis of the United Nations’ Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos). And without a doubt, the Philippine claim to the area is superior because it falls within its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone. This gives us the exclusive right to explore and exploit the living resources in these waters. The Spratlys, on the other hand, and this is contrary to repeated declarations by the Department of Foreign Affairs, cannot be resolved wholly through the Unclos. The reason is obvious: The Unclos only deals with the sea and cannot be applied to disputed islands.
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