TWENTY-TWO countries have shown solidarity with the Philippines as it marks the seventh year of its legal victory before an international arbitral tribunal invalidating China’s claims over the South China Sea.
At a forum organized by the Stratbase ADR Institute in Makati City, ambassadors from Australia, Japan, European Union Delegation, France, United Kingdom, United States, and India expressed concern over China’s continued militarization of the rocks and reefs in the West Philippine Sea and disregard for the ruling of the arbitration tribunal.
Aside from France, 15 of the 27 members of the EU also subscribed to the EU Delegation statement supporting the Philipppines’ call for freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. These are Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, The Netherlands, Poland, Austria, Romania, Slovakia, Finland, and Sweden.
Canada also issued a statement from Ottawa castigating China’s “continued refusal to accept the tribunal decision, and its coercive behavior in the East and South China Seas.”
“Today is a really important day not for the Philippines but for the world. Australia has a long-standing, long partnersip with the Philippines to ensure that 2016 arbitration ruling is properly implemented and properly followed,” Australian Ambassador to Manila Hae Kyong Yu PSM told reporters.
In Tokyo, Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa stressed that the Arbitral Tribunal’s award is “final and legally binding.”
“The claim by China that it will not accept the award is against the principle of peaceful settlement of disputes . . . and undermines the rule of law as a fundamental value of the international community,” Hayashi said in a statement.
Indian Ambassador to Manila Shambhu Kumaran said India also lost in an international arbitration ruling on their maritime boundary with Bangladesh at the Bay of Bengal in 2014.
“The judgment was not entirely in India’s favor but we have recognized and implemented that award,” he said.
He said a “real test of state behavior” rests on countries to implement agreements which have been signed and implement those agreements.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, meanwhile, issued a statement from Washington DC urging Beijing to “comport its maritime claims with international law as reflected in the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention.”
Washington also called on Beijing to:
- “cease its routine harassment” of claimant state vessels lawfully operating in their respective exclusive economic zones
- “halt its disruption” of states’ sovereign rights to explore, exploit, conserve, and manage natural resources;
- end interference with the freedoms of navigation and overflight of states lawfully operating in the region.”
Australian Ambassador Yu noted China’s continued activities in the South China despite the ruling.
“It’s been seven years and we still continue to see the behaviors that we don’t want to see.” But, she added, this is no reason “to stop cooperating and stop working for what we believe in. We can’t give up. we have to remain united and work together to create a region that we want to live in.”
She said Australia is not just showing solidarity to the Philippines on asserting its maritime entitlements but also “walking the talk” by giving support such as military exercises and training to Philippine Navy and Coast Guard.
Laure Beaufils, British Ambassador to the Philippines, said they also plan to deploy another aircraft carrier to the South China Sea in 2025.
Asked if sending more troops to the South China Sea would heighten the tension, Ambassador Yu said this is not so.
“We are doing two-pronged approach—deterrence and diplomacy.What we are doing is form of deterrence we have to show we capability to protect our national interest and if like-minded countries come together to do that, of course the effect of it should be greater,” the Australian diplomat said.
Manila welcomed the statement of support from countries.
“We are honored that the Award stands as a beacon whose guiding light serves all nations,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said.
The Chinese Embassy in Manila has yet to make a statement. The Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing has in the past said the Permanent Court of Arbitration has no jurisdiction over the maritime claims and does not recognize the ruling invalidating its claim in the oil-rich South China Sea.