PH to Hague tribunal: China threatens law of the sea - Institute for Maritime and Ocean Affairs

The Philippines says UNCLOS shows ‘that principles trump power; that law triumphs over force; and that right prevails over might’

DAY TWO. The Philippine delegation waits inside a session hall at The Hague, The Netherlands, for the second day of the oral hearings on the Philippines' case against China over the South China Sea. Photo courtesy of Abigail Valte

DAY TWO. The Philippine delegation waits inside a session hall at The Hague, The Netherlands, for the second day of the oral hearings on the Philippines’ case against China over the South China Sea. Photo courtesy of Abigail Valte

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines cautioned an arbitral tribunal at The Hague, The Netherlands, that China’s expansive claim over disputed waters threatens the law of the sea, and endangers small countries like the Philippines.

In the Philippines’ opening salvo in its case at The Hague, Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said the South China Sea dispute “goes to the very heart” of the so-called Constitution for the Oceans, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

“In the Philippines’ view, it is not just the Philippines’ claims against China that rest in your capable hands. Mr President, it is the spirit of UNCLOS itself,” Del Rosario said Tuesday, July 7, addressing the 5-member tribunal’s president.

“That is why, we submit, these proceedings have attracted so much interest and attention. We call on the tribunal to kindly uphold the convention and enable the rule of law to prevail,” he said. (READ: FULL TEXT: The Philippines’ opening salvo at The Hague)

He also hailed the provisions of UNCLOS on settling sea disputes. “It is these dispute resolution provisions that allow the weak to challenge the powerful on an equal footing, confident in the conviction that principles trump power; that law triumphs over force; and that right prevails over might.”