PH presents case at The Hague

From Malaya (Jul 6): PH presents case at The Hague

A HIGH-LEVEL Philippine delegation left Sunday night for The Hague in the Netherlands to present the country’s case against China before the international arbitral court which would rule if it has jurisdiction over the maritime dispute in the South China Sea.

The delegation included Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Cabinet Undersecretary for Security Cluster Emmanuel Bautista, and deputy presidential spokeswoman Undersecretary Abigail Valte.

Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said Malacañang is confident that the tribunal would recognize the Philippines’ case that was filed based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The hearing will be from July 7 to 13.

Coloma said a favorable decision on the jurisdiction would enable the country to present the merits of the case during the oral arguments.

He said the petition is supported by the three branches of the Philippine government which has sent their own representatives in the delegation.  He said the Executive branch is led by Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., the legislative branch by Senate President Franklin Drilon and Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., and the judiciary by Supreme Court Justices Antonio Carpio and Francis Jardeleza.

Ochoa had flown ahead of the delegation last week to meet with the Philippine government’s legal team that included Solicitor General Florin Hilbay and a team from the Washington-based law firm Foley Hoag led by Paul Reichler.

The legal team also included Professor Bernard H. Oxman of the University of Miami School of Law, Miami, United States of America; Professor Philippe Sands of the Matrix Chambers in London, and Professor Alan Boyle of the Essex Court Chambers also in London.

Asked what the Philippine government would do in case the arbitral court decides that it has no jurisdiction, Coloma said the Philippine is focusing at the moment on presenting its case.

“We are taking one step at a time and are determined to prove the merits of our position,” he said.

The Philippines in 2013 filed a “memorial” against China over the disputed territories but China had refused to acknowledge the petition, saying the maritime dispute should be resolved bilaterally.

The Philippines said the issue could not be addressed bilaterally since it involved several claimants. Apart from the arbitration case, the Philippines is also pushing for a legally-binding Code of Conduct in the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN).

While legally binding, any decision that favors the Philippines would be unenforceable because there is no U.N. body to police such rulings, legal experts said.

Nevertheless, such a ruling would be a diplomatic blow to Beijing and might prompt other claimants to the South China Sea to take similar action, legal experts and diplomats said.

The case is being closely watched by Asian governments and Washington given rising tensions in the South China Sea, especially in the Spratly archipelago, where China is creating seven artificial islands that will allow its navy to project power deep into the maritime heart of Southeast Asia.

Some international legal scholars and South China Sea experts said China was effectively taking part in the case even though it had officially refused to do so.

“It appears the tribunal panel is bending over backwards to accommodate China’s interests and appear even-handed to both the Philippines and China,” said Ian Storey, a South China Sea expert at Singapore’s Institute of South East Asian Studies.

Experts said that did not mean the judges would find in Beijing’s favor.

“They are being as fair as they can ... they seem to sense China will scrutinize every word in any final ruling,” said one legal scholar following the case.

Without China’s permission, Manila cannot seek a ruling at the International Court of Justice in The Hague on the sovereignty of the disputed territory, legal scholars said.

Instead, Manila has invoked dispute settlement procedures under UNCLOS, a system that allows for arbitration even when one side objects and refuses to participate.

Tribunal statements and the rules of the case reviewed by Reuters confirm that China can communicate with the tribunal via its ambassador to The Hague, while the court also updates China on procedural moves and opportunities for submissions.

Despite the exchanges, China still planned to reject any decision that favored Manila, the sources said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular briefing on Thursday that the “unilateral” arbitration was “a political provocation in the guise of law that seeks to deny China’s national sovereignty in the South China Sea.”

Zha Daojiong, a political scientist at Peking University, said he believed Beijing’s strategy of not taking part and then refusing to accept any judgment was set. “Without China’s participation, any ruling can only be an opinion,” he added.

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