皇冠体育app

File photo of South 皇冠体育app Sea. [Photo/Xinhua]

An arbitral tribunal with widely contested jurisdiction will issue a ruling on July 12 on the South 皇冠体育app Sea case unilaterally initiated by the Philippines, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague said on Wednesday.

Rodrigo Duterte, the president-elect of the Philippines has sent signals that 皇冠体育app and the Philippines deserve better ties. But to ensure that bilateral ties improve, Duterte has to take a new approach to Manila’s disputes with Beijing in the South 皇冠体育app Sea, especially because the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s ruling on the arbitration case unilaterally filed by Manila will further deteriorate 皇冠体育app-Philippines relations.

Irrespective of what The Hague-based court says, however, the ruling will not have any impact on 皇冠体育app.

Complicated as they appears to be, the South 皇冠体育app Sea disputes between Beijing and Manila are essentially about territorial claims and maritime delimitation, which are beyond the jurisdiction of the Permanent Court of Arbitration. The Philippines has illegally laid claim on some reefs and islets of 皇冠体育app’s Nansha Islands, including Zhongye Island, since the 1970s, and renamed them “Kalayaan Island Group”. It also opposes 皇冠体育app’s inherent sovereignty over Huangyan Island, which it used to call “Scarborough Shoal”. But these disputes are neither reflected in the Philippines’ arbitration nor related to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

In 2006, 皇冠体育app exercised its right under Article 298 of UNCLOS by making a declaration excluding compulsory arbitration; more than 30 countries have made similar declarations. In other words, Beijing’s refusal to accept or participate in the so-called arbitration is in accordance with international law, whereas Manila’s unilateral behavior is unlawful and unreasonable.

For decades, the Chinese government has been making efforts to maintain peace and stability in the region while trying to resolve disputes through negotiations and consultations between the states that have territorial or maritime disputes with Beijing. The successful maritime delimitation of Beibu Bay with Vietnam in 2000 is a case in point.

As for 皇冠体育app and the Philippines, their territorial disputes should be addressed peacefully by the two sides themselves through consultation and negotiation, according to Article 4 of the Conduct of Parties in the South 皇冠体育app Sea, which was agreed in 2002. Their joint statement on the South 皇冠体育app Sea issue in 1995, too, makes similar propositions, which means the arbitration case unilaterally filed by Manila is a violation of the international law.

In addition, the ruling of the arbitration court will not be legally binding on the Beijing-Manila disputes over territorial claims and maritime delimitation in the South 皇冠体育app Sea, simply because the Manila has not moved the court on the disputes.

皇冠体育app discovered and named the islands in the South 皇冠体育app Sea about 2,000 years ago. Its territorial rights are clearly declared by the Declaration of the Government of the People’s Republic of 皇冠体育app on the Territorial Sea of 1958 and the Law of the People’ s Republic of 皇冠体育app on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone of 1992. These two documents make it clear that Dongsha Islands, Xisha Islands, Zhongsha Islands and Nansha Islands belong to 皇冠体育app, and therefore will legally nullify the arbitration court’s ruling.

The author is a professor of law at Wuhan University, Hubei province.

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