U.N. body names 2nd member of arbitral tribunal for PH case vs China

From InterAksyon (Mar 25): U.N. body names 2nd member of arbitral tribunal for PH case vs China

The Philippines’ case against China has gained momentum after a United Nations arbitration body appointed a Polish judge as the second member of a tribunal that will hear Manila’s complaint over what it calls Beijing’s “excessive” claim to the South China Sea.

Manila initiated an arbitration process under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea or UNCLOS on January 21 to try to declare as “illegal” China’s nine-dash claim, which covers nearly the entire resource-rich waters, where some parts are called by the Philippines as West Philippine Sea.

China has resisted the Philippines’ move to let a U.N. body intervene in the disputes, saying the Philippines’ case was legally infirm and carried unacceptable allegations.

Beijing’s rejection to go to court prompted Manila to ask the ITLOS to choose an arbiter on behalf of China.

In response to the Philippines’ request, Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez, in a press briefing, said International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) President Shunji Yanai last week named Polish judge Stanislaw Pawlak as China’s arbiter.

Stanislaw is the second judge to be named in the panel. He will join Manila’s arbiter, German judge Rudiger Wolfrum.

Hernandez said the next step will be for the ITLOS President to appoint the other three members of the arbitral tribunal upon receipt of written request from the Philippines.

Arbitration proceedings will proceed upon completion of the panel members as provided by Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea or UNCLOS, Hernandez said.

UNCLOS is a 1982 accord by 163 countries that aims to govern the use of offshore areas and sets territorial limits of coastal states. The Philippines and China are both signatories to the treaty.

It also allows member-states to seek legal remedy on territorial disputes through mediation.

Hernandez maintained that arbitration is “a peaceful and durable form of dispute settlement pursuant to international law.”

China, Taiwan, Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei and Malaysia lay claim in part or in whole on islands, shoals and reefs in the South China Sea where undersea gas deposits have been discovered in several areas.

China prefers to negotiate one on one with other claimants, which would give it advantage because of its sheer size compared to rival claimants which are smaller and have less military force.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/57949/u-n--body-names-2nd-member-of-arbitral-tribunal-for-ph-case-vs-china