Manila: China’s insistence on its claims in the West Philippine Sea under the so-called “nine-dash line” is the crux of the problem preventing the resolution of the territorial dispute in the area, an official said.

Speaking at a recent forum at the Ateneo de Manila University in suburban Quezon City, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said that Chinas’ nine-dash line claim to the whole of the West Philippine Sea (WPS or South China Sea) poses a stumbling bloc to the resolution of disputes in the WPS, on the basis of international law, specifically the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea or UNCLOS.

According to the wikipedia online resource, the nine dash line refers to the demarcation used by China for its claim in the South China Sea. The Chinese claim covers the Paracel Islands and and Spratly Islands.

The claim is disputed by the Philippines, Bunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam who also claim the Spratlys in whole or in part.

“The Philippines contends that the nine-dash claim of China is, to put it plainly, illegal. It is arbitrary and bereft of any basis or validity under international law, specifically the UNCLOS,” said Del Rosario.

The Foreign Secretary narrated that when the Philippines recently protested against China’s several acts of intrusions before the United Nations, China’s response was no such intrusions occurred since China has full sovereign rights over the whole WPS due to its nine-dash line claim.

But Del Rosario maintains that such intrusions happened within 85 nautical miles from the nearest Philippine island of Palawan, well within the 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and where the Philippines exercises full sovereign rights, as provided by UNLCOS.

“If left unchallenged, China’s baseless nine-dash line claim over the entire West Philippine Sea would not only adversely affect our sovereign rights and jurisdiction but could as well potentially threaten the freedom of navigation and unimpeded commerce of many other nations,” he said.

While welcoming the recent adoption of Implementing Guidelines to the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties to the South China Sea or DOC, Secretary del Rosario said that “the nine-dash line claim, nine years after the adoption of the DOC, presents a game changer.”

“How can we expect conduct from a party which claims full sovereignty over everything?,” he asked. The nine-dash line represents the nine dashes that mark China’s claim to the entire West Philippine Sea which China officially submitted to the United Nations only on 07 May 2009.

“In advancing the preventive diplomacy solution advocated by the ASEAN Regional Forum,” Del Rosario disclosed that “the Philippines is advocating two avenues.”

“These are, first, a cooperative framework for managing the disputes that will be vetted by the ASEAN maritime legal experts scheduled to meet this September in Manila; and second, having other Parties join the Philippines in subjecting China’s 9-dash line to validation, in accordance with UNCLOS,” he said.

Zone of Peace, Freedom, Friendship and Cooperation, or ZoPFFC the Philippines’ proposed to ASEAN, the disputed relevant features in the West Philippine Sea will be segregated from the undisputed waters in accordance with international law, specifically the UNCLOS. 

The undisputed areas could be transformed into areas for joint cooperation and development.