DFA to China:validate your maritime claims
SECRETARY Albert del Rosario of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Tuesday called on China to validate its claims to the disputed West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) before the United Nations Convention on . the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
He made the call a day after Beijing tagged Manila’s diplomatic protest over alleged sightings of Chinese vessels in contested waters as “baseless.”
Meanwhile, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly approved an omnibus resolution that a Phil- ippine government official said would be constructive in maintaining legal order for governance of the world’s oceans, including the peaceful settlement of overlapping claims to the West Philippine Sea.
In a statement, del Rosario said that to “peacefully and finally settle the disputes in the West Philippine Sea, it behooves conflicting claims to be resolved based on the rulesbased regime of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.”
“The Philippines is therefore prepared to validate our claims under UNCLOS, and we cordially invite China to join us in endeavoring to validate its own claims,” added the Foreign Affairs chief, who was on his way to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( Asean) retreat in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Del Rosario issued the statement after Beijing claimed that the Philippine protest over the latest incursion of Chinese vessels in Escoda Shoal on December 11 and 12 was “baseless.”
Escoda Shoal— also known as Sabina Shoal— is located 123.6 nautical miles off the coast of Palawan province, and falls within the 200- nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone ( EEZ) provided for by the UNCLOS.
Beijing, however, earlier raised its concern over bringing the territorial dispute before a third-party negotiator, adding that it was only agreeable to talking with claimant countries on a bilateral level.
The West Philippine Sea, which houses the potentially oil- and mineral- rich Spratly Islands, is being claimed in whole by China, and in part by the Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam.
Tensions between Beijing and Manila continued to rise since Feb- ruary during the height of alleged Chinese incursions in Philippinesclaimed part of the contested waters.
In New York City, the UN General Assembly recently approved the annual omnibus resolution on oceans and law of the sea, which would cover comprehensive concerns on governance of oceans, according to reports from the Philippine permanent mission to the world body.
The resolution will also tackle on provisions regarding the Philippines’ concerns on the welfare of seafarers captured by pirates, as well as on marine biodiversity.
During the General Assembly’s 93rd meeting of its 66th session, a 134-1 vote with six abstentions was able to initiate a process within the assembly that would study issues “relating to the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity, which would focus on questions including the sharing of ocean benefits, environmental impact assessments, capacity-building and the transfer of marine technology, and would identify gaps and ways forward.”
Ambassador Libran Cabactulan, the Philippines’ permanent representative to the UN, said that the resolution was deemed to be of “utmost importance to an archipelagic nation like the Philippines and many of our country’s and people’s interests need to be advanced and protected by our active participation in the drafting of this resolution.”