Palace: 'China's nine-dash line is something we cannot accept'

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 12): Palace: 'China's nine-dash line is something we cannot accept'

Following the latest incident in the Ayungin Shoal within the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG), where Chinese Coast Guard drove out two Filipino vessels on Sunday, Malacanang emphasized anew the importance of arbitration proceedings and maintained that "China’s nine-dash line concept is unacceptable."

Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said in a Palace media briefing on Wednesday that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has already sent “a number of” notes verbale (diplomatic notes) to the Chinese government.

“This...emphasizes the importance of the arbitration proceedings before the ITLOS (International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea) where we really need to come up with a ruling as we filed…” Lacierda said.

“Since we have resorted to the diplomatic processes, the arbitration proceeding is one such avenue where we can settle the questioned nine-dash line of the Chinese government,” he added.

Lacierda also noted that the government does not feel ignored by the developments so far since it continues to put on record the Philippines’ protests and China’s offenses.

“...Again, this emphasizes the need for a rules-based approach to the situation in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea),” Lacierda said.

The Malacanang official stressed that the government still questioned China’s nine-dash line concept which draws the extent of its claim over the disputed sea.

“The nine-dash line...is not consistent with international law, is not consistent with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS),” Lacierda said.

“The nine-dash line is something we cannot accept,” he added. “It’s as simple as that. That’s why we filed a case -- an arbitration case -- before the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea.”

Lacierda, meanwhile, said that while China openly expressed aggressiveness over the disputed sea, the Philippines would rather “deescalate tensions.”

“We believe in the (principle that) what is ours is ours, and so we will continue to push that, and we’re doing that diplomatically,” Lacierda said.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=624705