SOLICITOR General Menardo Guevarra yesterday said his office is mulling filing a complaint against China before the Netherlands-based Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) on the destruction of corals in the West Philippine Sea allegedly by Chinese vessels.
This came a day after Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said it is time to file a case against Beijing before international tribunals over the destruction of corals at Rozul (Iroquois) Reef and Sabina (Escoda) Shoal which are inside the country’s exclusive economic zone.
Rozul Reef is some 128 nautical miles from Palawan while Escoda Shoal is some 100 nautical miles, also from Palawan.
“The OSG is in the midst of a full-blown study on our legal options regarding the West Philippine Sea, including the filing of a new complaint with the Permanent Court of Arbitration. We shall evaluate the merits of each and every legal option, including the possible filing of a new complaint for damages against China before an international tribunal,” Guevarra said.
“We are still gathering relevant information and evidence from all available sources. These matters require a lot of prudence and circumspection in view of their potential long-term impact on our national interest,” he added
If the plan pushes through, it will be the second time that Manila has lodged a complaint before the PCA against Beijing.
The first was in 2013 when the administration of the late President Benigno Aquino III filed an arbitration case challenging China’s sweeping claim in the South China Sea (SCS), including the WPS. The arbitral tribunal ruled in favor of Manila in 2016 as it junked Beijing’s claim on the disputed waters under its so-called nine-dash line.
Beijing refused to acknowledge the tribunal’s ruling and insisted on bilateral talks to resolve the maritime territorial dispute even as it continued its aggressive activities by building artificial islands and installing military facilities in the area.
Aside from China and the Philippines, other claimants to the South China Sea are Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
LEGALLY BINDING
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reiterated the significance of the 2016 arbitral award before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in Hamburg, Germany on Tuesday.
The Philippines, according to the DFA, was one of 35 countries invited to participate in a hearing on how to hold big polluting nations accountable, requested by the Commission of Small Island States in Climate Change and International Law (COSIS) which is composed of Pacific island nations such as Palau, The Bahamas, Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Antigua and Barbud.
DFA Assistant Secretary Maria Angelina Ponce told the body that the 2016 arbitral award, as a “legally binding international law,” cannot be assailed and it could be used to help other countries facing similar challenges.
Ponce said the tribunal’s ruling is replete with legal doctrines that are of use in the COSIS proceeding against polluting nations.
“From the South China Sea arbitration, we can deduce that the obligation of due diligence is two-fold. First is adopting appropriate rules to prohibit harmful practice, and, second, is ensuring enforcement and compliance with the said rules,” she added.
One of the criticisms on the 2016 arbitral ruling is that the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) lacks enforcement power or mechanism to compel China to respect and adhere to the ruling.
Ambassador Carlos Sorreta, Philippine Permanent Representative to the UN, echoed Ponce’s remarks to the body and said that countries which have signed on to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) have the obligation to protect and preserve the marine environment.
“The South China Sea arbitration is the obligation of states to adopt appropriate rules and measures to preserve and protect the marine environment and to ensure compliance by entities under its control and jurisdiction,” Sorreta said.
The Philippines and China are among the signatories to the UNCLOS.
China reiterated it does not recognize the 2016 arbitral award which it said is “null and void.”
“The position of China on this issue is clear and consistent. The arbitral tribunal in the South China Sea arbitration acted ultra vires, erred in fact-finding, misinterpreted and perverted the law in adjudication,” Ma Xinmin, director general of the Department of Treaty and Law of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Senate deputy minority leader Risa Hontiveros has filed a resolution condemning the “massive coral harvesting and destruction” of Rozul Reef and Escoda Shoal.
Hontiveros said Senate Resolution No. 804 which she filed last Tuesday also seeks to “explore available resources to hold China accountable, including a claim for damages to be filed with the Permanent Court of Arbitration.”
Hontiveros filed the resolution after the Armed Forces and the Coast Guard reported that Rozul Reef has been “plundered” and that the massive coral harvesting left a trail of destruction in the area “with China likely the culprit.”
Hontiveros said the government “should seek payment for damages caused by China in the WPS.”
Hontiveros said she is calling on the government to oblige China to pay for the environmental damage at Rozul Reef and Escoda Shoal based on a study of Dr. Deo Onda, a scientist from the University of the Philippines’ Marine Science Institute, that said the Philippines has been losing around P33.1 billion a year from the damaged ecosystems at Panatag Shoal and Spratlys Islands from Chinese reclamation activities in the area.
She said Onda based the loses using a baseline value of $353,429 or P18 million per hectare per year for coral reefs based on a study conducted by Elsevier, a Dutch company specializing in scientific, technical and medical information and analytics.
Hontiveros said this was not the first time Philippines sought reparations as Japan paid the country war damages for her destruction of Manila during World War II, and the United States also paid P87 million after the USS Guardian damaged Tubbataha Reef in Sulu Sea.
She said the government cannot tolerate the continuing harms to the environment, economy, and security due to China’s incursions.
“Our 2016 arbitral ruling clearly invalidated China’s sweeping and expansive claims in WPS.
This is a case we won because of our dogged commitment to abide by international law and uphold the truth. It is only right that we pursue all options to make China pay,” she added.
CONCERN
French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his “growing concern about the increasing tensions in the Indo-Pacific region” and his “support for the supremacy of international law,” according to French Ambassador Marie Fontanel who paid a courtesy call on President Marcos Jr. yesterday in Malacañang.
“In her brief message, the envoy conveys French President Emmanuel Macron’s congratulations to President Marcos Jr. for successfully strengthening the Philippine’s economic growth in his first year in office. She likewise mentions the French leader’s growing concern about the increasing tensions in the Indo-Pacific region and expresses support for the supremacy of international law,” the Radio Television Malacañang (RTVM) said in a caption accompanying a video release of the call.
It added that Fontanel also reiterated the invitation of French President Macron for Marcos to hold a state visit in France.
Marcos and Macron held talks on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Conference (APEC) last year.
Fontanel, also the non-resident ambassador to Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands, served as Macron’s adviser on solidarity, health and gender equality from 2017 to 2020 prior to her designation as ambassador, and as permanent representative of France to the Council of Europe from 2020 to 2023 in Strasbourg. — With Raymond Africa and Jocelyn Montemayor
