Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said in his address to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday that the outcome of the South China Sea arbitration is already part of international law, that the Philippines will not compromise with China and that the Philippines is “resolutely opposed to any attempts to undermine it”.
On July 12, 2016, the International Court of Arbitration ruled that China does not have historic rights to natural resources in the South China Sea based on the “nine-dash line” in a case brought by the Philippines against China for encroachment on its maritime rights. The tribunal also concluded that China’s land reclamation in the South China Sea “has caused irreparable damage to the environment” and demanded that the Chinese government stop its “activities” in the South China Sea.
China has not recognized the tribunal’s ruling, and Duterte has taken a more ambiguous position on the decision since becoming president.
In a video statement on September 23 local time, Duterte stressed that the outcome of the South China Sea arbitration is already part of international law and that the Philippines cannot compromise, nor will the government dilute, weaken, or abandon it.
Duterte welcomes the growing number of countries that support the ruling. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a statement on the South China Sea on July 13, clearly declaring that the U.S. considers Beijing’s claims to most of the South China Sea “totally illegitimate” and does not recognize the Zengmu Desert as China’s southernmost territory.
On September 16, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom sent a note to the United Nations stating that China’s “historic” claims in the South China Sea are inconsistent with international law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and that the July 12, 2016 arbitration award in the Philippines v. China case clearly confirms that The three countries also stressed the importance of “the unimpeded exercise of the freedom of the high seas, especially the freedom of navigation in the air and sea, and the right of innocent passage, including in the South China Sea, as provided for in UNCLOS. The three countries also stressed the importance of “the unimpeded exercise of the freedom of the high seas, in particular the freedom of navigation in the air and sea, and the right of innocent passage, including in the South China Sea, as provided for in the Convention on the Law of the Sea.”
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