China formally rejects UN arbitration on West Philippine Sea issue
February 19, 2013
China has officially rejected the Philippines' move to elevate the long-running territorial dispute over the South China Sea before a U.N. arbitration tribunal.
In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said it received Tuesday afternoon from Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Ma Keqing a Note Verbale stating that China is rejecting and returning the Philippines’ Notification and Statement of Claim.
In its Note Verbale,
China reiterated its often stated position that it has indisputable sovereignty over the entire South China Sea encompassed by its nine-dash line claim, which covers nearly the entirety of the sea, including areas that are well within Philippine territory and several disputed islands.
Despite this setback,
the Philippines “remains committed to Arbitration which is a friendly, peaceful and durable form of dispute settlement that should be welcomed by all,” the DFA said in the statement.
According to Chinese state news Xinhua, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei, at a briefing in Beijing, said the Philippines’ note and statement of notification and claim have “serious mistakes both in facts and law.”
Although widely expected, China’s move was still a blow to Philippine government's efforts to take a legal track in confronting China on overlapping claims in the resource-rich waters, called West Philippine Sea by Manila, which have long been a source of diplomatic and maritime tensions.
Philippine officials have said that the arbitration process would proceed even if China would decide to ignore it but Chinese experts have asserted otherwise.
The tribunal, which would operate under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, would decide whether the arbitration case could be heard even in the absence of China.
Manila initiated an arbitration process under the UNCLOS on January 21 to try to declare as “illegal” China’s expansive claim to the South China Sea. — Michaela del Callar/KBK, GMA News
China formally rejects UN arbitration on West Philippine Sea issue | News | GMA News Online
China rejects Philippine effort at UN mediation over South China Sea territorial dispute
BEIJING – China says it has rejected the Philippines' attempt to seek international arbitration over conflicting claims to territory in the South China Sea.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Tuesday that China's ambassador to Manila, Ma Keqing, had returned Manila's formal notification of the move to a Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs official. Hong said the proposal was historically and legally incorrect and contained unacceptable accusations against China.
The Philippines informed China last month of its plans to take the countries' conflicting claims to a tribunal operating under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. It wants the panel to declare Beijing's moves in the potentially oil-rich waters unlawful.
Six governments have overlapping claims in the South China Sea. China claims sovereignty over virtually all of it.
Read more:
China rejects Philippine effort at UN mediation over South China Sea territorial dispute | Fox News