Top critics say Filipino leader is a ‘willing victim’ of China on anniversary of Hague-based tribunal ruling that nullified China’s vast claims in the South China Sea

Activists hold placards during a protest in front of the Chinese Consular Office in Manila on June 11, 2018. The Philippines on June 11 demanded that China stop confiscating the catch of Filipino fishermen in the disputed South China Sea, calling the practice “unacceptable”. / Photo: AFP/Noel Celis
Activists hold placards during a protest in front of the Chinese Consular Office in Manila on June 11, 2018. The Philippines on June 11 demanded that China stop confiscating the catch of Filipino fishermen in the disputed South China Sea, calling the practice “unacceptable”. / Photo: AFP/Noel Celis
The Philippines is celebrating today the second anniversary of its landmark arbitration award against China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea handed down by an arbitral tribunal in The Hague.

Crucially, the award legally nullified China’s expansive “nine-dash-line map” and “historic rights” claims which cover much of the South China Sea.

It also censured the Asian powerhouse for restricting Filipino fishermen’s access to the contested Scarborough Shoal as well as inflicting irreparable ecological damage due to its massive reclamation and island-building activities in the maritime area.

Until now, the Philippines remains sharply divided on how to leverage its arbitration award. Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte has repeatedly downplayed the relevance of the ruling by questioning its enforceability amid China’s vociferous opposition.

Soon after taking office in mid-2016, Duterte declared that he would “set aside” the arbitration award in order to pursue a “soft landing” in bilateral relations with China. In exchange, he has hoped for large-scale Chinese investments as well as resource-sharing in the South China Sea.

China has dismissed the award as a “piece of trash paper”, adopting a “three no’s” policy of non-participation, non-recognition and non-compliance vis-à-vis the award, which, according to international law formed under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), is final and binding.

Other major leaders in the Philippines, however, have taken a tougher stance and continue to try to leverage the award to resist China’s expanding footprint in the area.

The Stratbase-Albert Del Rosario Institute, an influential think tank co-founded by former Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Albert del Rosario, hosted today a high-level forum on the topic at the prestigious Manila Polo Club.

Del Rosario oversaw the arbitration proceedings against China under Duterte’s predecessor, Benigno Aquino. He opened the event attended by dignitaries from major Western and Asian countries with a strident speech which accused China of trying to “dominate the South China Sea through force and coercion.”

He defended the arbitration award as an “overwhelming victory” to resist “China’s unlawful expansion agenda.”

http://www.atimes.com/article/united-front-mounts-against-dutertes-china-policy/