PHILIPPINE government counsels slammed as illegal China’s continued construction of artificial islands within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) on the second day of hearings on the case it filed against Beijing in the United Nations Tribunal in The Hague.
Deputy Presidential Spokesman Abigail Valte, reporting on Day Two of the Hearing on the Merits, said the thrust of the Philippines’s arguments “centered on the deprivation of the fishing and exploration rights due to China’s
aggressive assertion of exclusive rights” over areas covered by its “baseless” nine- dash line claim.
Philippine counsel Andrew Loewenstein stated that none of the three conditions to establish historic rights are present in China’s case, making its claim “hopeless and indefensible,” Valte said in an e-mail furnished to Palace reporters in Manila.
She added that Prof. Philippe Sands also argued that Mischief Reef, Second Thomas Shoal, Subi Reef, Mckennan Reef and Gaven Reef are all low-tide elevations under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) and, as such, are “not entitled to its own territorial sea, exclusive economic zone or continental shelf.”
According to her, Sands also presented to the tribunal the construction activities on the features done by China, asserting that “these changes cannot be the basis of additional maritime entitlements.”
In the same hearing, Valte said counsel Lawrence Martin took to the podium to argue that based on the Mandarin, Spanish and English translations of Article 121, features that are classified as rocks “cannot have maritime entitlements despite China’s construction.”
“Martin also stressed that, under Unclos for a feature to be considered an island, it must be capable of sustaining human habitation and economic life,” the Palace official noted.
Valte reported that during the afternoon session, Reichler returned to the floor to prove before the Tribunal that no civilian settlements were ever established on the features in the Spratlys, arguing that there can only be one reason why this is the case, as the features themselves are “not capable of sustaining
human habitation.”
She said Sands, likewise, discussed China’s interference with the Philippines’s exercise of sovereign rights under the Unclos with respect to living and nonliving resources in the exclusive EEZ.
Sands cited several incidents involving service contracts given by the Department of Energy, wherein the private companies were prevented from doing exploration. In addition, the fishing ban mandated by
China’s Ministry of Agriculture covering areas in the Philippines’s EEZ was also discussed. Sands also complained to the Tribunal that China’s violations are “flagrant and persistent,” and they continue today, Valte said.
Martin, in his turn, presented various testimonies of Filipino fishermen to prove China’s interference in the traditional fishing activities of Filipino fishermen around the South China Sea, particularly in Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal. A map from 1784 was presented to prove that Bajo de Masinloc has always been part of the Philippines.
Valte reported that Loewenstein closed the afternoon session by presenting satellite images of various installations constructed by China on Mischief Reef, among others.
She added that a video simulation was also shown to the Tribunal to demonstrate how a cutter suction dredger destroys the sea bed and transfers sand to a preselected area, a machine used by China in its construction activities.
The Palace official said Loewenstein further argued that by engaging in these activities, China has clearly “violated the sovereign rights of the Philippines with regard to living and nonliving resources in its EEZ and continental shelf.”