Posted by Guo Cai \u2013 April 8, 2014 @ 15:12.<\/p>\n
On March 30, the Philippines submitted its memorial<\/a><\/b> to the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) addressing \u201call issues\u201d in relation to the case it initiated against China on the disputes over the South China Sea (The Republic of the Philippines v. The People\u2019s Republic of China). For a summary of the historic development of this case, please click here<\/b>.<\/a> According to a statement<\/a> <\/b>made by Philippines\u2019 Foreign Affairs Secretary, Albert del Rosario, the memorial consists of ten volumes of nearly 4,000 pages with more than 40 maps, which contains \u201cthe Philippine analysis of the applicable law and the relevant evidence, and demonstrates that the arbitral tribunal has jurisdiction over all the claims made by the Philippines.\u201d<\/p>\n China maintains<\/a><\/b> that the ITLOS has no jurisdiction over the Case, and on Monday China summoned the Philippine ambassador<\/a> <\/b>to express it was \u201cextremely dissatisfied and resolutely opposed\u201d to the filing.\u00a0 Although China has refused to participate in the ITLOS proceedings, on April 3 the Chinese Embassy in Manila released <\/a><\/b>a position paper on the South China Sea Dispute with the Philippines, which summarized China\u2019s position in its defense, both on jurisdictional issues and the merits.<\/p>\n With respect to ITLOS jurisdiction, China dismissed the Philippines\u2019 case by insisting that the case is principally a \u201cterritorial dispute over certain islands and reefs of Nansha Islands\u201d and therefore not covered by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea<\/b><\/a> (UNCLOS)\u00a0 China is entitled to refuse jurisdiction of ITLOS by the terms of a signing<\/strong> <\/a>declaration<\/a> <\/b>it made in 2006 for disputes over territory, maritime delineation, and historic title or rights.<\/p>\n With respect to the merits, China made an unusually detailed analysis asserting sovereignty over the disputed islands.\u00a0 For example, on the issue of Scarborough Shoal (known in China as Huangyan Island), China refers to a 1990 statement made by the Philippine ambassador to Germany, documents of the Philippine National Mapping and Resources Authority from 1994, and a Philippine official map from 2011 to prove that the Philippines itself has conceded the Scarborough Shoal is not within its territory.\u00a0 On the issue of \u201cfreedom and safety of navigation,\u201d China asserted its right to establish an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).\u00a0 In the position paper, China reiterates its \u201csincere wish\u201d for the dispute to be settled through bilateral negotiation, urging that parties should honor their consensus on negotiation contained in the 2002<\/strong> <\/a>Declaration<\/a><\/b> jointly made by China and all ASEAN countries on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.<\/p>\n The filing of the case was accompanied by a Philippine vessel\u2019s attempt to deliver<\/a>\u00a0<\/b>food, water and troops to the Second Thomas Shoal, where the Philippines stationed a rusting military ship symbolizing its assertion of sovereignty since 1999. Two Chinese coastguard ships tried to block its path. Beijing called <\/b><\/a>the move \u201cprovocative,\u201d <\/b>while the United States characterized<\/b><\/a> China\u2019s blockage as \u201charassment.\u201d China demanded <\/b><\/a>that the US stay away from the business. The U.S. State Department also expressly supported<\/b><\/a> the Philippines\u2019 use of the dispute resolution mechanisms under the Convention. The Government of Japan supports<\/a> <\/strong>the Philippines\u2019 \u201cuse of procedures\u201d under the UNCLOS.<\/p>\n The disputed waters (contested by China as territorial disputes) carry half of world\u2019s trade <\/b>and are also claimed in part <\/b><\/a>by Vietnam, Malaysia, Bruei and Taiwan.\u00a0 <\/b>Some observers anticipate<\/a><\/b> that ITLOS will not reach a conclusion before 2015.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Posted by Guo Cai \u2013 April 8, 2014 @ 15:12. On March 30, the Philippines submitted its memorial to the 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