PH hopeful of returning to The Hague to discuss case vs China

THE Philippine government is hopeful that they will be able to return to The Netherland-based Permanent Court of Arbitration to discuss the merits of its case against China in connection with the territorial dispute on the West Philippine Sea.

Solicitor-General Florin Hilbay of the Philippine legal team said they are confident that they were able to present the Philippines’ side well.

“We are confident that we presented the best forms of the argument. [But] how the arbitrators, how members of the Arbitral Tribunal received them, we don’t know. We have impressions of course. But we believe, based on our understanding of the case that we have presented and the answers we have given, these are the best forms of argument possible,” Hilbay said.

“So, we hope that we survive the jurisdictional phase and be able to return to The Hague,” he told reporters on the sidelights of the oral argument on Torre de Manila.

The Philippines took China to the arbitral tribunal in January 2013 as it challenged the legality of the latter’s nine dash line claim over nearly the entire South China Sea, including areas included in the country’s 200-mile exclusive economic zone.

China’s sweeping claims over the South China and its aggressive stance, including the reclamation activities in Kagitingan, Zamora and Panganiban Reefs as well as the building of artificial islets over Mabini, Burgos, Calderon and Kennar Reefs have angered other claimant countries, particularly the Philippines and Vietnam.

Hilbay said observers from other countries were present during the hearing.

“We welcomed it. In fact, we are quite happy with the presence of the observers, we considered it as a sign that they were really interested in the issues. This is not really between the Philippines and China. This is both a regional and global concern,” he added.

The July hearing at the Arbitral Tribunal was to address the objections to jurisdiction set out in China’s Position Paper. The Arbitral Tribunal will also consider other matters concerning its jurisdiction and the admissibility of the Philippines’ claims.

Should the Arbitral Tribunal rule in favor of the Philippines, another hearing will be conducted and the court is expected to rule on the merits in the first quarter of 2016.

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