Manila: The Philippines has pressured the United Nations to fast-track a resolution on its complaint over China’s claim of the entire South China Sea, a senior official has said.

Manila’s Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario told Gulf News that the government has asked the UN to also respond to the Philippines’ recent discovery of China’s reclamation activities on five shoals off the contested sea lane, near southwest Philippines.

“Since China is not participating in the complaint filed by the Philippines at the UN’s Permanent Court of Arbitration in Hague, the Netherlands, perhaps we could get a quicker resolution from the tribunal,” del Rosario said.

“Because the situation is getting worse every day in the South China Sea, I am asking our retainers in the US if we can present a request for the tribunal to hasten the process,” del Rosario explained.

At the same time, Manila’s foreign affairs department is planning to lodge more complaints against China, including for construction and reclamation on five shoals located near Palawan, in south west Philippines because they are within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, within the South China Sea, del Rosario said.

“There is a term called provisional measure and we’re looking into that (as a possible response from the UN). It’s a study that is in progress,” del Rosario explained when asked what it wants UN to do with regards China’s reported reclamation of five shoals near Palawan.

The five-man UN tribunal must help prevent the deterioration of tension in the South China Sea into a flash point way before it gives a resolution on the case filed by the Philippines last January, del Rosario said, adding, “We obviously have a situation that is exacerbating there and we need to do something urgently to be able to curtail a possible jeopardy.”

Last Monday, del Rosario called for a moratorium on construction activities in the disputed zones, referring to China’s reclamation activities.

A war of words ensued when Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hua Chunying responded and said on the website of China’s government agency, “We demand the Philippines to withdraw all its facilities and personnel on islands illegally seized from China.”

“Since the 1970s, the Philippines has illegally and forcefully occupied parts of China Nansha Islands (Spratly Islands) including the Zhongye Island (Pagasa Island), in violation of the United Nations Charter and principles of international law,” she said.

The Philippines expects the UN tribunal to give a resolution in early 2015, del Rosario said. The government filed the complaint in early 2013.

Despite China’s refusal to participate in the process, the UN tribunal gave Beijing up to December 2014, to respond to the complaint filed by the Philippine government.

An armed conflict due to overlapping claims in the South China Sea could affect the economic development of the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), geopolitical, analysts have said.

ASEAN is composed of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

China, Taiwan, and Vietnam claim the whole of the South China Sea based on their historical rights over the area.

Brunei, Malaysia, and the Philippines claim some parts of the Spratly Archipelago based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that grants countries 200 nautical miles exclusive economic zones starting from their shores.