Duterte urged to raise the Hague ruling at the UN General Assembly in September

MANILA – Former high-ranking government officials urge President Rodrigo Duterte to affirm to world leaders in September the Philippine arbitration victory in the South China Sea, calling it the will of the Filipino people.

Former Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, and retired Supreme Court Deputy Judge Antonio Carpio in a joint statement said this would be Duterte’s penultimate opportunity to raise the country’s legal victory against China in the international assembly before its term ends in 2022..

“There is no politics here, just our willingness to do the right thing, protect what is ours and defend ourselves against persistent harassment and duplicity from China,” the statement read, as leaders from 193 countries meet in New York on September 15 for the 75th General Assembly of the United Nations (UNGA).

“We should all come together to give our people the Philippines that they truly deserve under the rule of law. By winning the case against China, the Philippines has the strongest position among all nations to bring the issue of the South China Sea to the fore. “said additional.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague confirmed in 2016 the sovereign rights of the Philippines over its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), rejecting China’s historic claim on resources in the South China Sea using its line. of 9 lines. doctrine.

China has claimed much of the South China Sea and is stepping up its militarization activities on the resource-rich waterway. Other countries like Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam also have competing claims on the vital sea lane.

Raising the Philippines’ historic award to the UN is not starting the case again, the three officials added, rejecting the declaration of the country’s current top diplomat.

“With all due respect, we do not entirely agree with the opinion of the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Teodoro Locsin Jr., that ‘we already won it. Why would you want to re-litigate something you won? ‘”They said.

“Taking the arbitration ruling to the UNGA is not re-litigating the case. It is enforcing what we have already won. As international law does not have a world police, it is up to us to enforce the arbitration ruling by bringing other countries together in our legal position. If we don’t help ourselves, how can we expect other countries to help us? “The three added.

For them, it will also be the country’s penultimate opportunity to gain support from other countries, as “the odds are against China in this dispute.”

“If the arbitration ruling is raised this year, we can work multilaterally and bilaterally in preparation for UNGA 2021, when our chances will have improved significantly,” they said.

The independent tribunal, officials said, was established under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. More than 100 countries are signatories to the international treaty.

“In the long term, how can 145 littoral states of 193 UN member countries vote against their national interests going against UNCLOS, which grants them considerable maritime areas and resources that they did not enjoy before?” they said.

“How can naval powers like the United States, United Kingdom, France and others not support the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which upholds their freedom of navigation and overflight around the world? This simple logic should not be lost In us”.

Del Rosario, Morales and Carpio also emphasized that 8 out of 10 Filipinos wanted the government to enforce the country’s rights over the strategic waterway.

“Our government must listen to its people. Therefore, we call on the leaders of our country to be kindly there for us,” they said.

Since Duterte took office in 2016, around the time the ruling was made, the president has taken a friendly approach to the Asian superpower in search of better economic ties.

China refuses to acknowledge the ruling 4 years later.