PHL hails G7 statement on South China Sea

From the Philippine News Agency (May 30): PHL hails G7 statement on South China Sea

The Philippines on Monday hailed as critically significant the unified position issued by the G7 leaders of advanced economies, saying it reflects the international community’s understanding and support for Manila’s principled and rules-based approach in addressing the South China Sea row.

“We consider the G7’s position to be of critical significance as the international community awaits the outcome of the arbitral process that was initiated in 2013 with respect to the South China Sea,” a statement issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs said.

A final ruling on Manila’s case that seeks to undermine Beijing’s massive claim in the resource-rich waters is expected to be handed down by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands in the coming weeks.

Manila maintained that it will “fully respect the outcome of the tribunal process in good faith.”

The case was filed after a 2012 maritime standoff between the Philippines and China over the disputed Scarborough Shoal.

In its statement, the G7 said it reiterates its “commitment to maintaining a rules-based maritime order in accordance with the principles of international law as reflected in UNCLOS, to peaceful dispute settlement supported by confidence building measures and including through legal means as well as to sustainable uses of the seas and oceans, and to respecting freedom of navigation and overflight.”

China insists it has historical and indisputable claim over 90 percent of the strategic waters where a bulk of the world’s trade pass and serves as home to huge mineral deposits and natural oil and gas.

Beijing has agitated several countries, including the United States, for rapidly turning formerly submerged reefs into artificial islands equipped with runways and military facilities, in a move seen to cement its control over the waters, also being claimed in part or in whole by Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

“We are concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas, and emphasize the fundamental importance of peaceful management and settlement of disputes,” said the statement, which also includes the East Sea, where Japan and China are also locked in a maritime row.

The G7 also reaffirmed “the importance of states’ making and clarifying their claims based on international law, refraining from unilateral actions which could increase tensions and not using force or coercion in trying to drive their claims, and seeking to settle disputes by peaceful means including through juridical procedures including arbitration.”

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=890139