News
-
UN PCA ruling helps disputants worldwide
ANALYSTS have criticized the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) for doing China’s bidding, which was championed by Cambodia, China’s agent country in Asean, to disregard the UNCLOS Tribunal’s landmark ruling granting the Philippine petition against China’s takeover of the Philippine territories in the South China/West Philippine Sea and ordering China to stop its aggressive activities. Some of the analysts…
-
Former President Ramos’ mission
OF the many issues ruled upon by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague, two are of utmost importance to the Philippines – our oil exploration at Recto Bank and fishing by Zambales fishermen at Scarborough Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc. There was a finding of destruction of reefs in some islands in the South China Sea, which…
-
China’s ‘might makes right’ strategy vs. international law
BERLIN – China has been expanding its frontiers ever since it came under communist rule in 1949. Yet no country dared to haul it before an international tribunal till the Philippines in 2013 invoked the dispute-settlement mechanism of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), setting in motion the arbitration proceedings that this week resulted in…
-
As the Dust Settles on South China Sea Award, the Neighbourhood Reacts Cautiously
Some countries may want to use the verdict to needle China, but the neighbourhood has reacted cautiously, to ensure that any gains from political negotiations are not undone by the award. A fisherman repairs his boat overlooking fishing boats that fish in the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, at Masinloc, Zambales, in the Philippines April 22, 2015.…
-
Vietnam says it prefers bilateral talks with China on South China Sea
In this Nov. 24, 2015, image provided by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, a tribunal of five arbitrators, seated top right, hears the case regarding the Philippines and China on the South China Sea at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) at The Hague, the Netherlands. A landmark ruling on an arbitration case filed by the Philippines that seeks to…
-
China on the Defensive?
It has not been a good month for China. On July 12, an international court of arbitration at The Hague handed the Philippines a huge victory over China in the struggle over the South China Sea. A few days before that, South Korea decided to go forward with the deployment of the US Army’s Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System…
-
South China Sea ad displayed on billboard at New York’s Times Square
NEW YORK: China’s state news agency Xinhua has said that a video for the disputed South China Sea is being shown on a billboard in New York’s Times Square. Launched last Saturday (Jul 23), the promotional video will continue to be screened on the billboard until Aug 3, according to Xinhua. Xinhua has leased the advertising space, which is occupied…
-
How to avoid war in the South China Sea
BOSTON – President Xi Jinping seems to agree with the Athenian general who, more than 2,000 years ago, warned the people of Melos that the strong do what they wish and the weak do as they are compelled. His government insists that nearly all the South China Sea belongs to China — even islets and reefs close to the Philippines…
-
This country could be the next winner in the South China Sea
China’s lion-share claims to the resource-rich waters in the South China Sea took a huge blow earlier this month after the Permanent Court of Arbitration issued a landmark ruling dismissing China’s “nine-dash line” territorial claim. The court found that Beijing had violated the Philippines’ economic and sovereign rights and concluded there was no legal basis for China’s nine-dash line, which…
-
Aust to continue South China Sea patrols
Australia has no plans to back off sea and air patrols in the South China Sea where an increasingly bellicose China is standing firm on its territorial claims, the head of defence joint operations says. Vice Admiral David Johnston says Australia has long conducted patrols in the North Indian Ocean and South China Sea in what’s called Operation Gateway and…
-
Tribunal ruling: Blunting China’s realpolitik approach in the South China Sea dispute
MANILA, Philippines — On 12 July 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) under the United Nations Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) ruled in favor of the Philippines in its 14 claims against China’s expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea that it is a violation of international law. The court declared that China’s claims—defined by the nine-dash line—to…
-
The most ignored aspect of the South China Sea brawl might be the key to solving it
Tensions are high on the seas of Southeast Asia, but it is the war beneath the sea that matters more in the long run. Amidst the fracas between China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Brunei over claims in the South China Sea, it’s the fish and coral that are the silent victims. With every move made to bolster their…