A Manila-based maritime security analyst, Rommel Banlaoi, said that China’s dredging activities have completely changed the character of what were once tidal rocks and that the court could very well recognize the Philippines has maritime entitlements in the area. Numerous parties involved in the dispute are key US allies who are looking to the U.S.to protect their claims. Wu said the United States should not force other countries to accept its proposal and must not infringe upon other country’s interests in the name of maintaining freedom of navigation.
An article in the state-run tabloid Global Times acknowledged that the US and Japan would have “calculated that the Strait of Malacca is within the radius of Chinese aircraft above the reefs”. The USA government claims it was on “routine operations in the South China Sea in accordance with global law”. Beijing’s claim that its territory is being infringed upon therefore rests on a sketchy map dating to the 1940s in which nine dashes are superimposed across 80 percent of the South China Sea.
An EU official stated that the union is anxious by Beijing’s plans for more islands. Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei contest China’s sovereignty over parts of one of the world’s busiest sea lanes. China insists its sovereignty in the South China Sea was grounded in history and protected under global laws including the UNCLOS. Washington and Beijing should exercise self-restraint to prevent an unanticipated incident that could escalate into a military confrontation.
The European Union has been nursing relations with Beijing, hoping to attract Chinese funds to relaunch the bloc’s sluggish economy and has been negotiating a bilateral investment and trade deal. A new hearing will now be held behind closed doors in The Hague, and a final decision is not expected until next year. Mr. Xi pledged that China would not militarize the islets it is building – but that dubious promise, like his already-broken pledge to end cyberattacks on US companies, needs to be tested in practice. “Nothing has been canceled”, said the official.
The Philippines filed the case before the tribunal in The Hague in 2013 to seek a ruling on its right to exploit the South China Sea waters within its 200-nautical mile (370km) exclusive economic zone as allowed under the United Nations convention. The Tribunal dismissed the arguments stated by China in its position paper that was not officially submitted but nevertheless, considered by the Court. The court has now ruled that it has jurisdiction in the case and will rule on the matter. It should freeze construction of facilities on the artificial islands and start talks with the other countries concerned to settle territorial disputes, including pushing negotiations with ASEAN for an early conclusion of a legally binding code of conduct for the South China Sea.
Source: UFS
Source: UFS
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