Group of Seven (G7) sends message to China

ISE CITY, Japan—With a keen eye on the Philippines’ legal battle with China over territory in the South China Sea, the leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) advanced democracies have agreed to send a strong message on the importance of international law in resolving maritime disputes in Asia.

Though no individual countries were mentioned, the contents of their declaration at the close of an annual summit appeared to be directed at China.

China’s claim to nearly the entire South China Sea and militarization of the region has angered some of its Southeast Asian neighbors and sparked fears over threats to freedom of navigation in the strategic waterway.

“We are concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas, and emphasize the fundamental importance of peaceful management and settlement of disputes,” the G7 leaders said.

The leaders—representing the United States, Japan, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Canada—said settlement of disputes should be “peaceful” and “freedom of navigation and overflight” should be respected.

They said claims in the East and South China Seas should be made based on international law and countries should refrain from “unilateral actions that could increase tensions” while also avoiding “force or coercion in trying to drive their claims.”

They also stressed that judicial means, “including arbitration,” should be used.

That call came ahead of a ruling expected within weeks on China’s claims brought by the Philippines to the United Nations Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. China has said it does not recognize the case.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stressed the importance of the rule of law and mentioned the Philippine case as a focal point.

“As for the Philippines, soon the decision in its arbitration case will be announced. From the standpoint of the rule of law, it’s important that respective countries clearly demonstrate their stance [on this],” Abe said.

Before Friday’s declaration, the G7 leaders said they should pay close attention to the Philippine case, with some of them stating that they should “raise their voice on this,” if necessary.

On the first day of the two-day G7 Ise-Shima Summit, the seven heads of state arrived at a decision to send a bold signal emphasizing international law in disputes in the East and South China Seas, a Japanese spokesperson said.

“On the expected judgment by the [UN] court of the issue of the oceans, G7 should pay keen attention on this, and, if necessary, will raise their voice on this,” said Yasuhisa Kawamura, press secretary of Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Clear signal

At a briefing late Thursday, Kawamura relayed to the press the outcome of the closed session among the G7 leaders who had gathered for their annual meeting at the Shima Kanko Hotel nestled in the picturesque Ise-Shima region.

“They agreed on the importance of observance of international law, rule and principle. This point should be sent out as a clear signal to the rest of the world. That is G7’s expected role,” Kawamura said.

He said the G7 leaders also recognized concerns about the people’s freedom of navigation and overflight, which, he added, were personally important to the heads of state.

Asked to elaborate on what conditions would necessitate raising the G7 bloc’s voice, Kawamura clarified that these words were only a “comment” by the participants, and were not a wrap-up conclusion.

Though not a member of G7, China, the world’s second-largest economy, cast a shadow over the talks with its increasingly aggressive posture in the East and South China Seas.

China is locked in dispute with G7 host Japan over ownership of a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea known to the Japanese as the Senkakus and to the Chinese as Diaoyus.

To bolster its claim to the islands, China has declared an air defense identification zone in the East China Sea, which Japan, the United States and their allies have refused to recognize.

Principled approach

Pressed to answer yes or no to a question on whether G7 would take a leadership role in the maritime disputes involving China, Kawamura said the issue was not so black and white.

“Diplomacy is sometimes not a yes or no type of interactions,” he said. “Let me put it this way: They (G7 leaders) recognized the concerns, and they recognized the necessity to address it, and they agreed to a principled approach to the issues on the oceans.”

Kawamura cited another comment by the world leaders that G7 might need to cooperate with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and possibly bring up the issue at the upcoming East Asia Summit in September.

Philippine Navy welcomes BRP Tarlac

The Philippine Navy on Monday welcomed its first ever strategic sealift vessel BRP Tarlac, in a ceremony at Pier 13 at Manila South Harbor. BRP Tarlac figures to be the navy’s floating command and control center during humanitarian assistance and disaster response, apart from providing military sealift and transport services.

The BRP Tarlac is part of a P3.87 billion two-vessel contract entered into by the Philippine government with an Indonesian shipbuilder PT PAL Persero.

The BRP Tarlac is equipped with modern navigation and surface search radar, air search radar, an electronic warfare system, electro-optical fire control system and combat management system.
Its flight deck can carry two 10-ton helicopters. It also has an enclosed hangar for a 10-ton helicopter.

China wants all the resources in West Philippine Sea

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) – Supreme Court (SC) Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, in an exclusive interview with CNN Philippines on Thursday (November 25), said the maritime dispute in the South China Sea is a clash over resources.
For China, it's about asserting itself as a regional power by controlling the area.
"Definitely China wants all the resources in the South China Sea. They want all the fish, all the oil and gas," Carpio said.
"That's why when we tried to bid out internationally areas three and 4 four in the Reed Bank they sent us note verbale. They said 'we own areas three and four in the Reed Bank.' In fact, the entire Reed Bank, that's their position. So it's a fight over resources."
Carpio said China might influence countries around the South China Sea if it could control resources in the area.
Located northwest of Palawan, the Reed Bank or Recto Bank is the site of an oil drilling project by Forum Energy which Philex Petroleum is a majority owner.
But government temporarily stopped the service contract on December 2014 as the drilling site is within the disputed area subject to a United Nations arbitration.
The arbitral tribunal ruled it has jurisdiction over the country's case against China.
But Carpio said the country shouldn't eagerly lift the moratorium on oil drilling because of the ruling.
"The case has not been finished yet. We have to wait for the outcome. It's still pending," said Carpio.
He added: "If the tribunal rules that the Reed Bank belongs to the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines, then of course we have all the right to proceed, because under the law of the sea, we have the exclusive right to exploit our EEZ.

China to move beyond South China Sea?

According to Carpio, there are also speculations that after securing South China Sea, China will move beyond the first island chain in the Western Pacific.
The Supreme Court justice said he doesn't know if China will do that, but that seems to be the direction China is taking.
"If they do that, if they can control the South China Sea economically and militarily, then there will be no law of the sea anymore. There will be no UNCLOS.," Carpio said. "That's why we went to the tribunal and asked the tribunal to apply the law of the sea in South China Sea."
Carpio said the Permanent Court of Arbitration's ruling on jurisdiction could be considered as "an initial victory for the Philippines." He adds it's "the ruling that we wanted."
On the seven submissions that the tribunal deferred ruling, he said: "They have to know the facts. We have not presented the facts. Doesn't mean anything really. We expected that."
He said the Philippines could expect a ruling not later than mid-2016.
He also believes the tribunal will rule that China cannot claim the entire South China Sea, but it will be limited to what UNCLOS allows them, which is 200 nautical miles from its coast line.

By Anjo Alimario, CNN Philippines

China to build on disputed Scarborough Shoal

Beijing will start construction this year on a South China Sea islet within the Philippines' claimed exclusive economic zone as it seeks to project its power in the disputed waters, Hong Kong media reported Monday, April 25.

China will establish an outpost on Scarborough Shoal, 230 kilometers (143 miles) off the Philippine coast, the South China Morning Post newspaper cited an unnamed source close to the People's Liberation Army as saying.
Beijing claims nearly all the strategically vital sea, despite completing claims from several Southeast Asian neighbours, and in recent months has developed contested reefs into artificial islands, some topped with airstrips.

Manila claims Scarborough Shoal but says China took effective control of it in 2012, stationing patrol vessels in the area and shooing away Filipino fishermen, after a two-month stand-off with the Philippine Navy.
The SCMP cited the source as saying construction at the outpost would allow Beijing to “further perfect” its air coverage across the South China Sea, suggesting it plans to build an airstrip.
At a regular press briefing, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said she was not aware of the report but the area was China's "inherent territory".
Beijing will "adopt the necessary measures to resolutely protect China's sovereignty and legitimate rights and interests", she said.

The report comes ahead of an international tribunal ruling, expected within months, on a case brought by the Philippines over the South China Sea.
It also follows an announcement by the US and the Philippines that they would launch joint naval patrols in the sea.

The construction plans were likely to be accelerated in light of the upcoming ruling from the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague, the newspaper cited the source as saying.
“China should regain the initiative to do so because Washington is trying to contain Beijing by establishing a permanent military presence in the region,” the source said.
Washington has sailed ships close to islands claimed by Beijing, accusing China of militarising the South China Sea and deploying missiles in the area.
Hua said the recent patrol flights in the area by the Philippines and the US were "deserving of suspicion", urging "some countries" active in the region to exercise restraint and "make cooperative efforts with China".

Beijing admits building military-capable airstrips and deploying unspecified weapons on some of the islands, but insists US patrols have ramped up tensions.
As well as China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have claims to parts of the sea, which are home to some of the world's most important shipping lanes and believed to sit atop vast oil reserves.

Brave PH fisherman stands up to China

In this March 28, 2016, photo, Filipino fisherman Renato Etac, from the Philippines, sits on his boat during an interview with the Associated Press in Cato, northwestern Philippines. More than once, Chinese coast guardsmen approached Etac’s boat and pointed their rifles at him, but he says he knew they would not fire and risk starting a war. AP

 CATO, Pangasinan—As Asian countries jostle for territory in the South China Sea, one Filipino fisherman is taking a stand.

He has faced down Chinese coast guard rifles, and even engaged in a stone-throwing duel with the Chinese last month that shattered two windows on his outrigger.

“They’ll say, ‘Out, out of Scarborough,’” Renato Etac says, referring to Scarborough Shoal, a rocky outcropping claimed by both the Philippines and China.

He yells back, “Where is the document that shows Scarborough is Chinese property?”

At one level, the territorial disputes in the South China Sea are a battle of wills between American and Chinese battleships and planes. At another level, they are cat-and-mouse chases between the coast guards of several countries and foreign fishermen, and among the fishing boats themselves.

Indonesia seized a Chinese fishing boat last month and arrested eight fishermen, only to have a Chinese coast guard vessel ram the fishing boat as it was being towed, allowing it to escape.

Vietnam’s coast guard chased away more than 100 Chinese boats over a two-week period, its state media reported this week, and made a rare seizure of a Chinese ship carrying 100,000 liters (26,400 gallons) of diesel oil, reportedly for sale to fishing boats in the area.

The South China Sea, a hodgepodge of overlapping territorial claims in the Pacific, is both strategically important and a vital shipping route for international trade. It may also contain valuable oil and natural gas reserves.

As tensions ratchet up, though, it is perhaps those who make a living at sea who feel it the most. Here are some stories from fishermen around the region.

 In this Feb.27, 2015 photo provided by Renato Etac, Chinese Coast Guard members approach Filipino fishermen as they confront them off Scarborough Shoal at South China Sea, also called the West Philippine Sea, in northwestern Philippines. More than once, Chinese coast guardsmen approached Etac’s boat and pointed their rifles at him, but he says he knew they would not fire and risk starting a war.(Renato Etac via AP)

Guardian of Scarborough

Renato Etac has had dozens of encounters with Chinese ships.

More than once, a small team of Chinese coast guardsmen on a rubber boat approached his boat and pointed their rifles at him, but he says he knew they would not fire and risk starting a war.

At other times, the Chinese will surge as if to hit his boat, but the 37-year-old fisherman uses his keen knowledge of Scarborough Shoal (which Filipinos refer to as Panatag Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc) where he has fished for Spanish mackerel, trevally and grouper since he was a teenager to outmaneuver them.

Etac says he just wants to defend his livelihood in waters that used to be open to all. China took control of Scarborough Shoal in 2012 after a two-month standoff with Philippine government ships. It sits about 230 kilometers (145 miles) west of the Philippines, and 1,000 km (620 miles) from the Chinese coast.

“It’s like quarreling, like playing games,” he says. “Yelling, dirty finger, everything’s there. Sometimes I use expletives in different dialects and I get to laugh when I see them, because they don’t understand what I’m saying.”

He enjoys what he calls the territorial “debates” in the high seas, though his earnings from a weeklong fishing expedition have dropped by more than half to P3,000 because of both the Chinese disruptions and competition.

“He’s like the guardian of Scarborough, sir,” said Greggy Etac, a relative and a fellow fisherman. “I used to sail with him, but now, I’m scared.”

Philippines' arguments vs China

The Philippines' case against China over the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) boils down to 5 basic arguments.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario outlined these claims on Tuesday, July 7, the first day of arguments at The Hague.
For the oral hearings that run until July 13, we've listed these 5 arguments, quoted verbatim from Del Rosario.
Below each argument, we've added our own notes to explain things in a nutshell. We've also included links to other stories for further reading and reference.
The Philippines' arguments revolve around the right to fish, as well as to exploit other resources, in the West Philippine Sea.
This right is based on the so-called Constitution for the Oceans, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Under UNCLOS, a coastal state has the exclusive right to fish within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), an area 200 nautical miles from the coastal state's baselines or edges.

1. China's 'historical rights'

 ARGUMENT: "First, that China is not entitled to exercise what it refers to as 'historic rights' over the waters, seabed, and subsoil beyond the limits of its entitlements under the Convention."
 EXPLANATION: China says the South China Sea has belonged to it for centuries. This is why it claims "historical rights" over the disputed sea.
 Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio of the Philippine Supreme Court, however, says that "even if true," these historical rights have no bearing on sea disputes under UNCLOS. Carpio explains that UNCLOS "extinguished all historical rights of other states." This UN convention instead gives each coastal state an EEZ.

2. China's 9-dash line

ARGUMENT: "Second, that the so-called 9-dash line has no basis whatsoever under international law insofar as it purports to define the limits of China’s claim to 'historic rights.'"
EXPLANATION: The 9-dash line is China's demarcation to claim virtually the entire South China Sea. China says this is based on its "historical rights."
The Philippines, however, asserts that the 9-dash line is baseless under UNCLOS. This UN convention allows an EEZ, not a 9-dash line.

3. Rocks vs islands

ARGUMENT: "Third, that the various maritime features relied upon by China as a basis upon which to assert its claims in the South China Sea are not islands that generate entitlement to an exclusive economic zone or continental shelf. Rather, some are 'rocks' within the meaning of Article 121, paragraph 3; others are low-tide elevations; and still others are permanently submerged. As a result, none are capable of generating entitlements beyond 12NM (nautical miles), and some generate no entitlements at all. China’s recent massive reclamation activities cannot lawfully change the original nature and character of these features."
EXPLANATION: Under UNCLOS, habitable islands can generate a 200-nautical-mile EEZ. Rocks cannot.
China describes some features in the South China Sea as islands. One of these is Panatag Shoal (Scarborough Shoal), a rocky sandbar. China claims these supposed islands.
China also says these "islands" generate an EEZ, which could overlap with the EEZ of the Philippines. The problem for the Philippines is, China declared in 2006 that it "does not accept" arbitral jurisdiction when it comes to overlapping EEZs. UNCLOS allows this exception.
This is partly why China says the tribunal at The Hague has no right to hear the Philippine case – because it supposedly involves overlapping EEZs.
"The maritime dispute between the Philippines and China boils down to whether there are overlapping EEZs between the Philippines and China in the West Philippine Sea," Senior Associate Justice Carpio says.
Carpio, however, explains that "China has no EEZ that overlaps with the Philippines' EEZ in the Scarborough area." Carpio also believes an international tribunal "will deny Itu Aba," the largest island in the Spratlys, an EEZ.
The Philippines adds that China's reclamation activities cannot "lawfully change" rocks into islands.

4. Breach of the law of the sea

ARGUMENT: "Fourth, that China has breached the Convention by interfering with the Philippines’ exercise of its sovereign rights and jurisdiction."
EXPLANATION: China prevents Filipinos from fishing in the West Philippine Sea. UNCLOS, on the other hand, gives Filipinos the exclusive rights to fish within the Philippines' EEZ in the disputed waters.

5. Damage to environment

ARGUMENT: "China has irreversibly damaged the regional marine environment, in breach of UNCLOS, by its destruction of coral reefs in the South China Sea, including areas within the Philippines’ EEZ, by its destructive and hazardous fishing practices, and by its harvesting of endangered species."
EXPLANATION: China is building artificial islands in the West Philippine Sea. The Philippines says China's reclamation activities have buried 311 hectares of coral reefs – around 7 times the size of Vatican City. This can mean P4.8 billion ($106.29 million) in lost economic benefits. At the same time, China is accused of poaching.
China, for its part, refuses to answer the Philippines' arguments in arbitration proceedings. It has instead published a position paper debunking the Philippines' claims.
In the end, the Philippines says, the case at The Hague is set to provide a long-term solution to the sea dispute.
For Del Rosario, UNCLOS provisions "allow the weak to challenge the powerful on an equal footing, confident in the conviction that principles trump power; that law triumphs over force; and that right prevails over might." 

Credit:  Rappler.com