PH won’t drop arbitration case – Coloma

The Philippine government has rejected China’s call to withdraw its arbitration case before an international tribunal asserting its territorial rights in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

Presidential Communications Operations Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said they would pursue its territorial claim in the WPS in line with its rulesbased strategy in settling the sea row.

“There is no change in the government’s position on the rules-based approach and peaceful resolution of the maritime entitlement issues in the West Philippine Sea or South China Sea,” Coloma said in a Palace news conference.

China’s Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua earlier urged the Philippines to drop the case filed before a United Nations tribunal in exchange for bilateral negotiations. The ambassador said the negotiation may take some time but is the “only way” for the peaceful resolution of the conflict.

Manila earlier asked The Haguebased Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) to intervene and rule on the country’s maritime entitlements in the WPS amid China’s aggressive reclamation works in the area. It argued that the PH’s territorial rights are guaranteed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

China has refused to recognize the jurisdiction of the arbitral court in resolving the territorial dispute but the PCA gave China until August 17 to comment in writing on the arguments presented by the Philippine delegation in accordance with a provision in the UNCLOS to “assure each party a full opportunity to be heard and present its case.”

“Our intention is clear — for the Permanent Court of Arbitration to uphold the contents of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea where the Philippines is a signatory,” Coloma added.

Flourishing trade Despite the territorial dispute that has strained diplomatic relations between PH and China, trade between the two countries grew last year by 17.6 per cent, giving hope that trade relations can flourish amid the tension.

Ambassador Zhao Jianhua also played down reports that Chinese President Xi Jinping may skip the annual APEC summit to be hosted by Manila in November because of the conflict. He said no decision has been reached because the Philippine government only sent its invitation recently.

“Despite the difficulties we have, I think last year bilateral trade grew 17.6 percent and our trade stands at over $44 billion,’’ Zhao told reporters after speaking in a Manila business forum, where he highlighted how trade and investment between the Asian neighbors could still expand considerably.

“From these figures, you can see that our bilateral relationship is quite strong...so that gives us hope for a better relationship,’’ Zhao said.

While China is a large Philippine trading partner, the trade volume has lagged far behind Beijing’s trade and investment in other Southeast Asian countries like Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

The Philippines has expressed interest in joining the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank but hasn’t yet signed up. ``The door of AIIB is going to continue to be open to the Philippines,’’ Zhao said. The Chinese-led bank intends to finance investments in railways, cargo ports and other trade links.