SENATE minority leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel and Sen. Grace Poe yesterday called for caution in filing another arbitration case against China to assert the country’s sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) amid the latter’s continued aggressive activities in the area, including harassment of Filipino coast guard vessels.
“Let us not re-litigate a case that we already won. When we file something, we are actually giving the other side a chance to bring up their planned original argument –which they did not bring up because they boycotted the proceedings,” Pimentel told ANC TV a day after the country marked the 7th anniversary of the historic arbitral ruling.
“So, if our position is that the 2016 arbitral ruling is already final and executory, let us be careful in calling for a filing of anything, which can be misconstrued or misinterpreted intentionally. We should follow that ruling, which is in our favor. Do not risk it anymore,” Pimentel added.
Pimentel and Poe’s warning came after former Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza urged the Marcos administration to bring Beijing to court once again over its continued refusal to recognize the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) rejecting its expansive claim in the South China Sea (SCS), including the WPS, based on the so-called nine-dash line map.
Jardeleza, then solicitor general, was part of the legal team that brought the case against China before the PCA in 2013.
China did not take part in the arbitral proceedings and refused to abide by the PCA’s ruling as it insisted that the SCS is part of its territory under its nine-dash line map.
China also insisted on bilateral talks to address the maritime territorial dispute that also involves Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam.
Pimentel said instead of filing another case, it would do better for the administration to assert the arbitral ruling.
He said if another case is lodged against China and the country loses, Beijing can spin it to mean that the 2016 arbitral ruling has no more basis.
Instead of filing another case, Pimentel said it would do better for the administration to assert the 2016 arbitral ruling.
Poe said the country should instead find ways to enforce the ruling.
She also said the Department of Foreign Affairs should continue filing diplomatic protests against China’s aggressive activities and harassment of Filipino vessels in the WPS.
“If we file again, the ruling might change… We have won so, maybe we should just keep on filing diplomatic protests and also ask our allies and like-minded countries to support us,” she said in mixed English and Filipino.
Poe said she might support bringing the issue of Chinese activities in the WPS to the United Nations but not to the PCA.
“It that’s the next step, I don’t see anything that can be wrong but definitely not opening the case with the Hague,” she added.
