The United Nations arbitration proceedings will not settle the issue of ownership of whether the Philippines or China owns the disputed territories in the West Philippine Sea, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday.
DFA Assistant Secretary Charles Jose said the matter of “who owns what” would not be settled in the Permanent Court of Arbitration. He added that the case filed by the Philippines sought to determine its “maritime entitlements” under the United Nations Conventions on the Laws of the Sea.
The Philippines’ claims are anchored on its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone provided for under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, signed by 163 UN member-states, including China.