Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte invaded the South China Sea on Wednesday, in his first address to the UN General Assembly, stressing the country’s legal victory at The Hague in the long-running maritime dispute with China.
In a video address recorded in Manila, Duarte said the Philippines has a right to parts of the South China Sea as the Hague ruling declares it to be in the country’s exclusive economic zone.
“The award is now part of international law, beyond compromise and beyond the reach of governments to dilute, reduce or abandon,” Duarte said.
“We firmly reject any attempt to weaken it.”
During his more than four years in office, Duarte addressed the United Nations, marking its 75th anniversary this year.
In return for Manila’s geopolitical and economic ties with Beijing, his earlier statements reject the issue, and his statement on the South China Sea dispute is considered the strongest ever.
Tensions rise after Chinese fishing trawler competition and Filipino boats fight in 2011 for – with low tension – after a Filipino boat sank in the waters fought in 2001 for – and the continued expansion of artificial islands inside China – to increase pressure on Duarte at home. Is going. Exclusive economic zone of the Philippines.
Over the past decade, China has built military installations on many disputed rocks and outcrops in the South China Sea, so that it can lay claim to almost the entire sea. Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Indonesia also have water claims.
‘Illegal New Dashline Claim’
Beijing relies on its claims on the so-called nine-dash line, a vague description from a 1940s map that was declared illegal in a 2016 ruling at The Hague. The court found that the Philippines has exclusive resource rights within 0 370..4 kilometers (200 nautical miles) of its coastline.
Tensions have risen in recent months as several world powers, including the United States and India, have sent warships and other naval vessels in an effort to enforce the Hague ruling and emphasize freedom of navigation.
In his address Wednesday, Duarte said he “rewards the growing number of states that have come out in support of the award and what it is – the victory of the causes over the rash, the law on disorder, equality on ambition.”
“This – it should [be], “He said,” is the glory of the law. “
In a statement to Al Jazeera and other news outlets, retired Philippine Supreme Court Judge Antonio T. Carpio, a top critic of Duarte’s South China Sea policy, called the president’s statement “heartfelt.”
“I firmly hope that this is a policy that the Duarte administration will implement at all levels – in the defense of our exclusive economic zone in the Western Philippine Sea, in negotiations for a code of conduct, and in gathering international support. Community for the implementation of the Arbitration Award. “
Former Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said that with his statement, Duarte had proved that he was “not impenetrable in any way, but listens to the wishes of his countrymen.”
“By requesting an arbitral award (Hague ruling), the President has acted more faithfully to our Constitution, which obliges him and our military to safeguard the country’s sovereignty and our land and seas.”
Duterte also used the speech to address the condemnation of the “drug war” that began shortly after taking office. He accused “interest groups” of trying to “weaponize” humanitarian issues to criticize the campaign, which has killed thousands of people.
Accusing Duterte of committing crimes against humanity, human rights groups have called on the U.N. Are pushing for a full investigation into the drug war.
“They try to discredit the functioning institutions and methods of a democratic country and the popularly elected government which still enjoys equally widespread approval and support in its last two years,” he said.
In response, activist and rights group Karapat called Duterte’s speech a “stamping”, adding that the president was trying to discredit human rights defenders and “weaken their call for accountability.”
