Q:On July 12, the DFA of the Philippines released a Statement commemorating the 2016 arbitral award, asserting that the award is final and binding. The Philippine side is encouraged by the support of the G7 and other states that confirm the status of the Award, and welcomes the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) Advisory Opinion on Climate Change which cited the Award as authoritative and unassailable part of the corpus of international law. On the same day, the United States and other countries voiced their support for the Award. What is the embassy's comment on this?
A: The said arbitration is essentially a political circus dressed up as a legal action. The Philippines breached the common understandings with China on resolving the disputes in the South China Sea through consultation and negotiation, violated the article of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) which states that the disputes should be settled through peaceful means including consultations and negotiations between sovereign states directly concerned. It has abused the UNCLOS dispute settlement mechanism, ignored China’s declaration which, according to UNCLOS, excludes maritime delimitation from compulsory dispute settlement procedures, and insisted on initiating the arbitration. The arbitral tribunal in the South China Sea Arbitration exercised its jurisdiction ultra vires and made an illegitimate ruling. The award thus rendered is illegal, null and void. China does not accept or recognize it, and will never accept any claim or action thereon. This position has won the support and understanding of more than 100 countries. Many international authoritative law experts and scholars have criticized and called into question the integrity of the arbitral award.
The Philippine side clings onto this illegal, invalid arbitral award at the expense of its relations with China. By aligning itself with the US and some other Western countries on the South China Sea issue, the Philippines joins the small circle of the west ganging up against China. The Philippine policy and actions in the South China Sea hinges on the so-called arbitral award and UNCLOS the former of which is yet a deviation from the latter. This shows how self-contradictory their policies are. To cling to this position and the arbitral award will get the Philippines nowhere but farther and farther away from the right path.
Instead of constituting part of international law, the arbitral award has had an adverse impact on the international rule of law. The advisory opinion issued by ITLOS focuses on climate change response and marine environment protection, and doesn’t cover issues of territorial and maritime disputes or the validity of arbitral award on the South China Sea. Any effort to mislead the public by hyping up the arbitration will fail, and is even less likely to morph the null and void award into something legal. Such attempts will never weaken China’s firm resolve to defend our territorial integrity and maritime rights and interests.
With the joint efforts of China and ASEAN countries, the situation in the South China Sea is generally stable. China stands ready to continue working with ASEAN countries, including the Philippines, to manage maritime differences, deepen maritime cooperation, fully and effectively implement the DOC, actively advance the COC consultation, keep the South China Sea peaceful and stable. At the same time, China will continue to firmly safeguard its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests and continue to resolve maritime disputes through negotiations and consultations with parties directly concerned based on a respect for historical facts and the international law. We hope the Philippine side will honor its commitments, stop citing and hyping up the illegal award and get back onto the right track of bilateral negotiation for settling the disputes at an early date.
As the mastermind behind the South China Sea arbitration, the US annually ropes in allies to play up the issue of the illegal award against China in a vain attempt to exert pressure on, and force China into accepting the award. We are firmly against this. We urge the US and its allies to refrain from making statements and taking actions that disrupt regional peace and stability, and stop being a trouble maker in the South China Sea.