Christian JanLois A.

Noriega September 25, 2020

2015-04185 | BS Geodetic Engineering MS 1 THW-1
Atin ‘to: Key points to solidify Ph claim on WPS
What used to be untouched islands and unexploited reefs in the West Philippine Sea were
suddenly converted into artificial islands by China – military bases containing air defense
installations, seaports and airstrips are just some of the developments that are continuously being
undertaken by the economic giant in as early as 2013, a time when Chinese ships were seen
pumping sands into the contested islands via satellite imagery. Although these transformations
have been rolling out for years, its legality is still being questioned. How did it start and why
does one country seem to have this obsession to have sole control of the sea? China initiated
these reclamations on account that they have ‘historical rights’ over these islands and even
almost the entire South China Sea. The latter is incredibly rich in natural resources, where it
serves as a reservoir to about 11 billion barrels of oil, 190 trillion ft3 of natural gas and 10% of
world fisheries and most importantly, 30% of the global shipping trade flows through here. It
goes without saying that claiming most of the sea will certainly be a huge asset for a country.
The Chinese government has reiterated that after the second world war, they secured ownership
of the SCS, which leads to the creation of a nine-dash line emphasizing the coverage of their
claims. But this particular demarcation goes against Article 57 of the United Nations Convention
on the Laws of the Seas or UNCLOS which states that ‘the exclusive economic zone shall not
extend beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea
is measured’.
Former Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Albert del Rosario stressed that
“they [China] have forcefully asserted their claim by exploiting the living and non-living
resources in the areas beyond the UNCLOS limits, while forcibly preventing other coastal states,
including the Philippines, from exploiting the resources in the same areas – even though the
areas lie well within the 200NM of the Philippines’s coast”. This is part of what prompted the
Philippines to finally pursue legal action against China, a case which was brought to the
international tribunal – The Hague, in Netherlands. Spearheaded by then Solicitor-General Florin
Hilbay and del Rosario, the country eventually won the arbitration case with the Permanent
Court of arbitration agreeing that the Philippines indeed has exclusive sovereign rights over the
WPS and that the China’s ‘nine-dash line’ is invalid. As expected, the aggressive claimant
refused to honor the ruling and has since continued with its illegal poaching and illegal denial of
Filipino fisherfolks from sailing on its own waters.
“Hindi natin kaya makipag-gyera sa Tsina.” (We are not capable of going into a war with
China.)
This narrative has been used by President Duterte and other members of his cabinet to
malign the Filipino people of the actual posture of the country in the WPS fiasco. I get a huge
sense that those who expressed the same sentiment with the President are just confused. We won
in an international tribunal, and then what? What does the PCA award mean? Will we be able to
challenge China even though our military is much weaker?
 Conflicting parties are members of the United Nations. Signing up for the organization
means agreeing to the stipulations expressed therein. Quite simply, China violated the terms by
claiming what is not rightfully theirs. On the other hand, the Philippines has so much fight
against these aggressive Chinese, at least in terms of diplomacy, but despite several options and
chances, we failed to uphold our sovereignty. The current administration has so much debt to
China financially. It has also sought the help of several Chinese firms in most of the construction
projects being done as part of the Build, build, build program under the DPWH.
With these facts at hand, one cannot help but think that the country’s rights to the WPS
are being sold and that we are left with no other recourse but to accept it. But the reality says
otherwise. The government can start by educating people about the importance of sovereignty
and why should we strive to protect it relentlessly. People must feel security in the fact that our
territories are protected by several international laws and treaties with our allies. Information
about international agreements must be clearly taught and not express statements that only seek
to sow fear in the minds of people. Second, we should establish more marine science institutions
and put premium on the budget for these. The sole evident reason that we are unable to exploit
the natural resources in our own seas is that our scientists lack funding and other means of
support. Allocating our government’s resources in scientific endeavors would encourage several
Filipinos to pursue the path of marine science. Finally, the government led by the duly elected
President must maintain its political will in reaffirming our victory in the Hague.
Sources:
Esmaquel, P. (2019). Philippines loses to China 3 years after Hague ruling. Retrieved from
https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/philippines-loses-china-3-years-hague-
ruling
Hunt, K. (2016). South China Sea: Court rules in favor of Philippines over China. Retrieved
from https://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/12/asia/china-philippines-south-china-
sea/index.html
Mangosing, F. (2019). The Hague ruling on South China Sea must be included in sea code.
Retrieved from https://globalnation.inquirer.net/181595/the-hague-ruling-on-south-
china-sea-must-be-included-in-sea-
code#:~:text=The%20Hague%20ruling%20on%20South%20China%20Sea%20must
%20be%20included%20in%20sea%20code,-
By%3A%20Frances%20Mangosing&text=MANILA%2C%20Philippines%20%E2%8
0%94%20The%202016%20international,actions%20in%20the%20disputed%20waters
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Santos, M. (2016). PH wins arbitration case over South China Sea. Retrieved from
https://globalnation.inquirer.net/140358/philippines-arbitration-decision-maritime-
dispute-south-china-sea-arbitral-tribunal-unclos-itlos
Al Jazeera’s Youtube report: China continues South China Sea military action despite COVID-19
Vox’ Youtube documentary: Why China is building islands in the South China Sea