Philippines files claim against China over contested South Asian waters

The Philippines recently filed a 4,000-page claim with the Permanent Court of Arbitration of the United Nations in The Hague yesterday over China's assertions that it owns several nautical-miles' worth of water and islands rich in oil, gas and fish, Bloomberg said.

According to its court filing that were submitted electronically, the Philippines insisted that it has the right to exploit waters within the 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The filing followed a day after Chinese vessels ordered a civilian Philippine vessel to move away from Ayungin Shoal, whom the mainland has claimed as theirs. The news agency said the move has been the second time this month China has ordered the Philippines out from the heavily-contested island.

On the other hand, Bloomberg said Philippine President Benigno Aquino is currently working on a defense deal with the US that was seen as a tactical move to aid the country in defending some of the waters and islands from China. This would mean that the US will have more military presence and could build facilities inside the country's military bases. It is to note that China's military budget underwhelms the Philippines at 47 times Bloomberg said.

Executive director Ramon Casiple, of the Institute for Political and Electoral Reform in Manila said yesterday, "The case could further heighten tensions and prompt China to move to shoals claimed by the Philippines. Other claimant nations such as Vietnam, Brunei and Malaysia are watching how this case will play out."

As early as January of this year, the Philippines reportedly brought the issue about the right of territorial ownership to the arbitration trial and cited that it has exhausted all diplomatic and political avenues to resolve the dispute. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said in an online statement that it does not accept international arbitration, but commented that the Southeast Asian country was on the right track to resolve the dispute.

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Philippines territory lawsuit against China, Permanent Court of Arbitration of the United Nations

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