MANILA, Philippines – Joining a United Nations arbitration process to resolve territorial disputes is the course of action China should take and not just meeting Manila “halfway” on a controversial fisheries regulation in disputed waters, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

“The nine-dash line claim is in gross violation of international law. It is the core issue that must be singularly and fully addressed,” DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez said. “To this end, we reiterate our invitation to China to join us in arbitration as we intend to proceed with or without China for a final disposition.”

He said the fisheries rule, which China’s Hainan province vowed to enforce on foreign fishing vessels “is only one of the unilateral measures by China to force a change in the regional status quo in order to advance its nine-dash line position of undisputed sovereignty over nearly the entire South China Sea.”

Read more: http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2014/01/19/1280411/phl-china-join-us-un-arbitration