After tribunal win, int’l support sought to buck Chinese offense

STREET CELEBRATION Breaking into loud cheers, a crowd of Filipinos and Vietnamese at Manila Bay hoist a giant Philippine flag on Tuesday to show their support for the unanimous decision of a UN-backed tribunal to junk China’s claim to almost all of the South China Sea, including waters in Manila’s exclusive economic zone known as West Philippine Sea. RICHARD A. REYES

Following the favorable ruling made by a United Nations (UN) tribunal upholding the Philippines’ claims to parts of the South China Sea, a militant group on Wednesday said that the next move forward should be to tap the help of the international community to pressure China to accept the ruling.

Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), the group who pushed for the “CHexit” campaign, said that China should engage in bilateral talks with the Philippines.

“With the UNCLOS and the PCA (Permanent Court of Arbitration) ruling as basis, the Filipino people must help in gaining the support of the international community against China’s aggressive behavior in the West PH Sea,” said Bayan Secretary General Renato Reyes Jr. in a statement.

Reyes said that should China continue to disregard the arbitration court’s ruling, it would be isolated from the international community.

“Cooperation is possible only if China abandons its 9-dash line claim and respects the rights of the Philippines.”

“China may be a superpower but the voices of the Filipino people and the international community will isolate it politically if it insists on violating international law,” he added.

READ: China rejects ruling on South China Sea as ‘null and void’

With the favorable UN tribunal ruling, Reyes said that China should cease and desist from barring Filipino fishermen from fishing in Panatag Shoal and stop its destructive activities in the South China Sea, known locally as the West Philippine Sea.

READ: Duterte calls Cabinet meeting after landmark PH win vs China

On Tuesday, the UN-backed PCA ruled that China had no his­toric ti­tle over the South China Sea and that it vi­o­lated the sov­er­eign rights of the Philip­pines with its ac­tions in the said waters.

“China had vi­o­lated the Philip­pines’ sov­er­eign rights in its ex­clu­sive eco­nomic zone by in­ter­fer­ing with Philip­pine fish­ing and pe­tro­leum ex­plo­ration, by con­struct­ing ar­ti­fi­cial is­lands and fail­ing to pre­vent Chi­nese fish­er­men from fish­ing in the zone,” the PCA said in a statement after handing its ruling on the case filed by the Philippines against China in 2013.

The arbitration court also said that there is no legal basis for China to claim the historic rights over resources within its sweeping nine-dash line. AJH/CDG

READ: Inquirer Briefing Paper: The Philippines vs. China case

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