PH welcomes int’l recognition of sea dispute with China

The Philippine Mission to the United Nations (UN) welcomed the international community’s increasing recognition that developments in the territorial dispute in the South China Sea is a concern of the international community as a whole.

Philippine Permanent Representative to the UN Lourdes Yparraguirre, said the root cause of the territorial dispute is China’s claim of “indisputable sovereignty” over almost 90 percent of the South China Sea, as enclosed by its so-called Nine-Dash Line.

In Moscow, Senate President Franklin Drilon thanked the Russian government for supporting the Philippines’ position in the West Philippine Sea issue and called for an expansion of Philippine-Russia’s bilateral relations.

“The so-called Nine-Dash Line is an excessive and expansive claim, and does not have legitimacy under international law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS),” Yparraguirre said.

She also reiterated the Philippines’ total commitment to its peaceful and rules-based approach to the resolution of maritime disputes.

“Territorial or maritime claims should never be asserted through intimidation, coercion or force, including through massive, large scale ocean filling or reclamation or illegally creating artificial islands in the high seas and in the exclusive economic zone of another coastal State,” Yparraguirre said.

China has undertaken accelerated ocean-filling or reclamation in the last two years after the Philippines initiated UNCLOS arbitration proceedings against it, preventing the Philippines from accessing its traditional fishing grounds and from enforcing its relevant laws within the West Philippine Sea.

“These illegal actions have destroyed corals reefs and their priceless marine ecosystem which took millions of years to form, and violate our mandate to protect the marine environment under Articles 192 and 194 of UNCLOS,” Yparraguirre added.

Russian support Drilon, the first Filipino and Asian to address Russian lawmakers at the Federal Council of the Federal Assembly of Russia, reaffirmed the strong and unwavering commitment of the Philippine government to further deepen the friendship and mutual understanding between the two countries.

“We are grateful to Russia for your continuing interest in this issue. Your support for the peaceful settlement of international disputes is consistent with, and supports, our principled position that the West Philippine Sea dispute should be settled according to the rule of law, particularly the UNCLOS,” Drilon said during his key note address.

UNCLOS is the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the tribunal hearing the the country’s case against China.

Drilon is in Russia on the invitation of Mme. Valentina I. Matvienko, Chairperson of the Federal Council, Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, who introduced him and who chaired the plenary session.