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“Under the United NationsConvention on the Law of the

Sea, no state can claimsovereignty over an underwater

feature unless it lies within 12nautical miles of its land. James

Shoal is over 1,000 kilometres from undisputed Chinese

territory. Last month, the Philippine government announced it wouldseek a ruling from aninternationaltribunal aboutwhetherChina’sclaims in thesea werecompatiblewith the UNconvention.

James Shoalwould be aclear exampleof a claim thatis notcompatible.

Perhaps thismight be a good moment for

Beijing to review how it came toclaim this obscure piece ofsubmarine territory in the first

place.”

Bill HaytonThe South China Morning Post9 February 2013

“Manila’s audacious move is amajor development in the longrunning dispute as it marks the

first time one of the Southeast Asian parties has resorted tolegal means to challengeChina’s expansive claims.

If the UN tribunal decides tohear the case, any ruling itissues will have wide-ranginglegal, political and strategicimplications.”

Dr. Ian StoreyInstitute of Southeast AsianStudies Singapore1 February 2013

“We are not doing this because we wantto be an aggressor, we are not doing

this because we want escalation. Thisis about keeping the peace. This is

about protecting ourselves - somethingwe have long thought impossible”

Benigno S. Aquino IIIPresident of the Philippines

Secretary Albert Del Rosario thanks Japanese Prime Minister forJapan’s support for Philippine arbitration initiative

23 May 2013, Tokyo –Thefurther strengthening of thestrategic partnership betweenthe Philippines and Japanbased on shared values tookcenter stage at Foreign

Affairs Secretary Albert F. delRosario’s courtesy call onJapanese Prime MinisterShinzo Abe at the Kantei(Prime Minister’s Office) inTokyo this afternoon.

The Prime Minister and Secretary del Rosario discussed the regionalsituation and the particular maritime security challenges confronted incommon by the Philippines and Japan. They noted the Philippines andJapan’s shared advocacy in promoting the rule of law.

Along these lines, Prime Minister Abe manifested the JapaneseGovernment’s support for the Philippines’ initiation of arbitral proceedingslast January, pursuant to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the

Sea (UNCLOS), in its bid to clarify maritime zones and entitlements in theSouth China Sea.

Secretary del Rosario expressed the Philippines’ appreciation for Japan’sstance, stressing the crucial role of international law in attaining a durableresolution to international disputes based on a level playing field.

“The Philippines is one of our five Asia-Pacific allies, and a very, veryimportant relationship at this point intime when there are tensions over theSouth China Sea, where we support acode of conduct, and we are deeplyconcerned some of those tensions andwould like to see it worked out througha process of arbitration.”

John KerrySecretary of StateRemarks withSecretary Albert Del RosarioState Department, 2 April 2013

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Paragraph 59, Chairman's Statement22nd ASEAN Summit "Our People, Our Future Together”

Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei, 25 April 2013

“We discussed the situation in the South China Sea and reaffirmed theimportance of peace, stability, and maritime security in the region. Weunderscored the importance of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the

South China Sea (DOC), ASEAN’s Six -Point Principles on the South China Sea, and the Joint Statement of the 10th Anniversary of the DOC. In thisregard, we reaffirmed the collective commitments under the DOC to ensuringthe peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with universally recognised

principles of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Conventionon the Law of the Sea, without resorting to the threat or use of force, whileexercising self- restraint in the conduct of activities.”

“The initiation of Arbitral Proceedingsagainst China on the nine-dash line is

an operationalization of President Aquino’s policy for a peaceful andrules-based resolution of disputes in

the WPS in accordance withinternational law specifically

UNCLOS.”

Albert F. Del RosarioSecretary of Foreign Affairs

“The European Parliament “underlines the global importance of theSouth China Sea through which one third of the world’s trade

passes; is alarmed at the escalating tension and therefore urgentlyappeals to all parties involved to refrain from unilateral political andmilitary actions, to tone down statements and to settle theirconflicting territorial claims in the South China Seas by means ofinternational arbitration in accordance with international law, in

particular the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, in order toensure regional stability.”

Bastiaan BelderReport on EU-China Relations byCommittee on Foreign AffairsEuropean ParliamentStrasbourg, France, 13 March 2013

“. . . the Philippines will haveachieved a major victory if theTribunal rules in their favour onthe most important issue to them

– that China cannot makeclaims to maritime space based

on history and the nine-dashline . . . although it is impossibleto predict how the case will turnout, it is hoped that as a result ofthe decision of the Tribunal, allof the claimants, includingChina, will clarify their claimsand bring them into conformitywith UNCLOS.”

Robert Beckman

DirectorCentre for International LawNational University of Singapore14 March 2013

“If, as the Philippines hopes, thetribunal decides that the land

features in the South China Seaare largely "rocks" orsubmerged features underUNCLOS rather than islands,their maritime space would belimited to a relatively smallterritorial sea.

Such a ruling would mean thateven if Chinese sovereignty wasindisputably established over allland features in the South China

Sea, it would not have a credibleclaim to all the waters of most ofthe South China Sea, and thewaters surrounding

Scarborough Shoal andhydrocarbon-rich Reed Banknear the Philippines in

particular.”

Zach DubelResearch Associate

Stimson CenterWashington DC5 March 2013

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