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DFA: China's refusal to int'l arbitration may weaken its Spratlys claim
China’s refusal to resolve the territorial dispute over Spratly islands before an international tribunal may weaken the country’s claim on the area, a senior Philippine diplomat said Wednesday. “China’s hesitation to accept the Philippine suggestion to elevate their dispute to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea [ITLOS] could lead to the conclusion that China may not be able to validate their stated position in accordance to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea [UNCLOS]," Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said. He issued the statement after China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said the country is more willing to settle the Spratlys issue “through direct negotiations between directly concerned countries" than in the UN-backed panel. The ITLOS is established under the law of the sea. An appeal to the tribunal is one means of settling disputes concerning the interpretation or application of the sea law. The DFA announced Monday that it would bring the Spratly islands dispute before the ITLOS, while maintaining that its claims on the area are based on the UNCLOS signed by both the Philippines and China in 1992. The Philippines has accused China of intruding into its territory, particularly near the Reed Bank off Palawan province, several times in the past months, basing the information on reports from the military.
