SolGen: We want legal, not just moral, victory in West PHL Sea row
The Philippines will not settle for just a "moral victory" in the latest chapter of its territorial row with China over parts of the West Philippine Sea.
Philippine Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza stressed this as he discussed the matter with academics in the United States, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Sunday.
“It would be in the international community’s overall interest to persuade China to respect such decision, since the repudiation would only hurt the system of international law on which countries both powerful and weak rely,” he said, according to an article posted on the DFA website.
Jardeleza was also quoted in the DFA article as saying the Philippines "is seeking a legal, and not just a moral, victory."
He stressed these points in response to questions on what options the Philippines could take if it wins a judgment that may be ignored by China.
The Solicitor General spoke at events at Harvard University, New York University (NYU) and the Council on Foreign Relations, a leading Manhattan-based think tank, on the Philippines’ maritime arbitration case against China in the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS).
Jardeleza visited Harvard University on April 23, and NYU and the Council on Foreign Relations on April 24.
"Many of the academics applauded the Philippines’ recourse to the rule of law, led by Professor Jerome Cohen of NYU who is a leading American expert on Chinese law," the DFA said.
Jardeleza contested China’s interpretation and application of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), specifically its nine-dash line claim.
He said the nine-dash line claim interferes with the exercise by the Philippines of its sovereign rights and jurisdiction in its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.
Also, Jardeleza reiterated the Philippines’ overriding position that resort to arbitration is “a form of peaceful settlement of disputes.”
He said the outcome could benefit the Philippines, China, as well as the region and the world, by contributing to the predictability of interstate relations through the common standards set by UNCLOS, to which both countries are parties.
“Our meetings this week with the leading academic communities, while informal, was very informative, convivial and interactive,” he said.
ASEAN role
Jardeleza said the Philippines also relies on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which it is a member, to help resolve the issue.
“Our ASEAN partners have always known and acknowledged that taking a legal, in addition to a diplomatic, approach is a sovereign option. This was brought to bear last year when the Philippines was having a hard time gaining ASEAN’s consensus on the matter,” he said. — BM, GMA News
SolGen: We want legal, not just moral, victory in West PHL Sea row | News | GMA News Online