What’s this thick memo vs China?

By: Bong Lozada - 11 years ago

DFA Secretary Albert Del Rosario (left) and Solicitor General Francis Jardelaza speaks in front of the media Sunday after the submission of the Memorial to the Arbitral Tribunal Sunday. BONG LOZADA/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines – It’s time for the humble minnow to go up against the mighty shark.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said Sunday that the documents that the Philippines submitted to the tribunal in The Hague consist of nearly 4,000 pages explaining the merits of the country’s case against China.

And what’s in this thick document?

1) Volume 1 comprises the Philippines’ analysis, inside 270 pages, of the “applicable law and the relevant evidence.”

2) Also, the first volume says that the Arbitral Tribunal jurisdiction over all the claims made by the Philippines and the country’s Statement of Claim.

3) For the rest of the memorial, volumes 2 through 10, has the documentary evidence and maps that support the country’s claim in the disputed islands.

4) Volumes 2 through 10 together is almost 3,700 pages that contains almost 40 maps that serve as supporting evidence for Volume 1.

5) Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza said the memorial also disputes the nine-dash line that China imposed. “The memorial presents the Philippines’ case on the jurisdiction of the Arbitral Tribunal and the merits of its claims,” Del Rosario said.

And what is the ultimate purpose of the thick memo?

Del Rosario said the contents of the memorial are of “national interest…[the memorial is about] defending what is legitimately ours; it is about securing our children’s future. It is about guaranteeing freedom of navigation for all nations.”

Moreover, the DFA chief said the memorial “is about guaranteeing freedom of navigation for all nations, it is about helping to preserve regional peace, security and stability. ”

Finally, “it is about seeking not just any kind of resolution but a just and durable solution grounded on International Law,” he said.