China says it will not join the PHL in South China Sea arbitration case

From the Philippine News Agency (Dec 7): China says it will not join the PHL in South China Sea arbitration case

A week before a court-appointed deadline to challenge the Philippine government’s case, China on Sunday said it will not join the arbitration proceedings on the South China Sea row that was initiated by the Philippines.

Citing a Chinese government “position paper,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said China “will neither accept nor participate in the arbitration.”

The Philippine government has reserved comment on the matter.

“We’re studying it and will issue a statement in due course, if warranted and appropriate,” said Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose in a text message.

A five-man tribunal based in The Hague, Netherlands operating under the ambit of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) gave China until December 15 to respond to the complaint filed by the Philippines, which sought clarification of its maritime entitlements over parts of the waters within its territory, but is being claimed by China.

Manila on March 30, 2014 submitted a 4,000-page legal document, called in international arbitration parlance as the memorial that contained a package of evidence and maps to bolster its case in a bid to declare as illegal China’s sweeping claim over the resource-rich waters.

In its position paper, China said the nature of the Philippines' case is outside the mandate of the tribunal because it can not rule on territorial disputes or maritime delineation.

But the Philippines said it is not asking the court to grant ownership of the disputed territories but is merely seeking “clarification” of China’s claim of “indisputable sovereignty over nearly the entire South China Sea.”

China noted that its rejection or non-participation in the legal proceedings “stand on solid ground in international law” as it pointed out a declaration it signed in 2006 that excludes it from participating in arbitration process concerning maritime delimitation, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, the Philippines said it has exhausted all efforts, including bilateral negotiations, to reach a settlement with China on their maritime row, but Philippine officials said Chinese incursions over the country’s territories have persisted, prompting it to seek legal recourse.

Tensions in the South China Sea -- one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes -- spiked anew amid China’s increasingly aggressive behavior by beefing up its military and paramilitary presence and engaging in reclamation activities in contested features.

China’s actions have alarmed foreign governments, such as the United States and Japan.

Defying international calls to halt its ongoing expansion activities, Beijing insists it has “indisputable” sovereignty over the waters, citing ancient maps and historical records to back its claims.

China's massive claim also encroaches on the territories of its smaller Asian neighbors with less military power like Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei. Taiwan, a self-ruling democratic state that separated from China in 1949, is also a claimant to the South China Sea territories.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=713673