Manila: The Philippines’ call for arbitration in settling maritime disputes in the South China Sea was dealt a boost recently after the European Parliament adopted a resolution supporting such initiative.
The Department of Foreign Affairs, in a statement, hailed the resolution as a “milestone” in the Philippines’ efforts to bring attention to efforts to settle the issue on overlapping territorial claims in the South China Sea, through peaceful means such as arbitration.
“The European Parliament’s resolution is a milestone in the efforts of our country to generate awareness and support for our arbitration efforts,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said.
Last year, the United States Senate unanimously approved a resolution on the peaceful settlement of disputes in the South China Sea (referred to by the Philippine as the West Philippine Sea).
The South China Sea provides a rich fishing ground and below the ground resource for the countries that encompass it such as Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, Brunei, the Philippines, and China, among others. Aside from, this it provides an important passageway to inter-Asian and trans-Pacific as well as global trade. But amity and otherwise civil coexistence among countries in the region are under threat from China’s territorial ambitions in the area. Del Rosario said the Philippines is heartened by the European Parliament’s stand on arbitration in settling the South China Sea row.
“The recourse to arbitration is firmly rooted in the tradition of good global citizenship. We are strongly committed to seeing this arbitration through and there should be no doubts about our resolve to clarify our maritime entitlements in the West Philippine Sea peacefully and in accordance with the rule of law,” Del Rosario stressed.
The European Parliament had adopted the resolution last March 14 approving a report which included its support to the Philippines’ arbitration initiative, under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), in clarifying the country’s maritime entitlements in the South China Sea.
In the said resolution, a paragraph on the West Philippine Sea was included, viz:
“...underlines the global importance of the South China Sea through which one third of the world’s trade passes through it; is alarmed at the escalating tension and therefore urgently appeals to all parties involved to refrain from unilateral political and military actions, to tone down statements and to settle their conflicting territorial claims in the South China Seas by means of international arbitration in accordance with international law, in particular the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, in order to ensure regional stability.”
The report likewise called on China to “commit itself to observing the UN Charter and international law in pursuit of its goals abroad.”
