): Even if it wins arbitration case, PH won't still be able to expel China from West PH Sea - expert

From InterAksyon (Mar 23): Even if it wins arbitration case, PH won't still be able to expel China from West PH Sea - expert



South China Sea (West Philippine Sea) map

A Filipino maritime affairs expert believes that even if the Philippines wins its case before the UN arbitral tribunal, it won't still be able to expel China from territories that are said to be within the West Philippine Sea.

According to Professor Jay Batongbacal, director of the University of the Philippines Institute of Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, the aribitration court won't be able to enforce its ruling and order China to remove all the structures it had built on the disputed territories because what the tribunal has is just moral suasion.

"(U)ltimately, wala namang enforcement power 'yong arbitral tribunal at moral suasion lang talaga 'yong kailang kapangyarihan. Hindi n'ya directly mauutusan ang China na tanggalin ang mga istruktura na 'yan," said Batongbacal.

Recently, the Philippine government handed over a “supplemental submission” consisting of “12 volumes totaling over 3,000 pages” as part of the case it filed before the arbitral tribunal.

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said the submission was  in response to the 26 questions from the tribunal on December 16 last year “requesting additional argument and information” on “issues concerning both the tribunal’s jurisdiction and the merits of the Philippines’ claims, including the Philippines’ principled claim challenging the lawfulness of China’s so-called ‘nine-dash line’.”

The DFA said the Philippines “is confident that its answers to the tribunal’s questions leave no doubt that the Tribunal has jurisdiction over the case and that the Philippines claims, including in particular its claims concerning the nine-dash line, are well-founded in fact and law.”

However, according to Batongbacal, the tribunal won't be able to impose its ruling on China because the latter already said that it would not participate in or accept the results of the arbitration.

"Wala naman talagang international arbitration court na nag-uutos sa ibang bansa na wala namang consent 'yong bansa na 'yon. Kaya nga arbitration, kailangan parehong partido na nagsumite sa jusrisdiction ng arbitration," said Batongbacal.

[Video report]

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/107511/even-if-it-wins-arbitration-case-ph-wont-still-be-able-to-expel-china-from-west-ph-sea---expert