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| PH hailed for bringing sea disputes to UN | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jun 19 2013, 09:06 AM (618 Views) | |
| arvcab | Jun 19 2013, 09:06 AM Post #1 |
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http://ph.news.yahoo.com/ph-hailed-bringing-sea-disputes-un-213320013.html Manila, Philippines --- The Philippines received plaudits during the third annual conference on the South China Sea hosted recently by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, DC, for bringing its territorial dispute with China over the West Philippine Sea to a United Nations-backed tribunal. This arose as participants to the conference stressed the need for all the South China Sea disputants to clarify just what it is they are claiming. The ambiguity of China's and Taiwan's 9-dash-line claim was cited as well as the failure of the Southeast Asian claimants to fully declare what it is they are claiming. Although the Philippines was recognized for its move to bring its dispute with China to a UN-backed tribunal, the participants in the dialogue pointed out that Manila has yet to declare its extended continental shelf or which of the South China Sea territories it considers islands and which are rocks. The same can be said about Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei all of whom have not redrawn their territorial baselines which violate the rules of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS). According to the panel experts, without clarification, it is impossible to define what waters are actually in dispute. And without that definition, agreeing on areas of joint development or joint conservation is a tall order. The idea to jointly develop disputed resources in the South China Sea as a means of managing the disputes was also discussed. Relative to this, majority of the participants were one in saying that instead of joint development of oil and gas resources, it would be more promising if joint development and joint conservation of fisheries in the South China Sea is pursued by the claimants. This was proposed after surveys conducted by the US Geological Survey showed that there are little or no commercially viable hydrocarbons beneath the disputed region. In addition, run-ins between maritime surveillance vessels and fishing boats account for the vast majority of violent incidents in the area. Pursuing a multilateral framework to conserve fish populations in the South China Sea offers a vehicle to help tamp down tensions and could be less politically sensitive than oil and gas development. The participants to the dialogue also stressed the need for the United States to ratify the UNCLOS. Unless the US joins the treaty, the calls for management and eventual resolution of the South China Sea disputes according to international law ring hollow, the panel of experts said. CSIS is a Washington DC-based public policy research institution dedicated to analysis and policy impact. Meanwhile, the Philippines and China have reaffirmed their commitment to promote and expand their bilateral relations despite the escalating tensions in the West Philippine Sea. |
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8:52 AM Jul 11