Philippines pushes for early S China Sea UN ruling

The Philippines is pushing for an earlier UN ruling on its appeal regarding Chinese claims in the South China Sea, while China has refused to participate in the proceedings.

Manila has directed its lawyers to file a formal request seeking a resolution from the arbitral tribunal on the case within the year or in early 2015, said the country's foreign affairs spokesman Charles Jose, without disclosing when the request would be formally transmitted, AFP reported on Thursday.

Filipino Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said late Tuesday that a speedier ruling was necessary "because the situation is getting worse by the day in the South China Sea."

"The Philippines is hoping to take advantage of a possible favorable earlier ruling to damage China's image," said Zhuang Guotu, dean of the School for Southeast Asian Studies at Xiamen University.

Manila lodged an appeal in March with the UN tribunal to rule the claims illegal, but China has resolutely refused to participate in the proceedings.

Although China does not accept the arbitration initiated by the Philippines and won't recognize the ruling, the decision will still have an influence on the international community, Zhuang said.

He said that China should have brought objections to the UN instead of simply refusing to participate because that could only help shorten the arbitration proceedings.

"The Philippines is attempting to legalize its infringements and provocations by dragging China into arbitration proceedings," Wang Min, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations said at a UN meeting on June 13.

"The Philippines is also trying to gain international sympathy and support through deception. This is what the problem is in essence," he stressed.

Zhuang believes that China should play a more active role on this issue by presenting facts and evidence to the world or even related UN agencies about why the tribunal has no jurisdictional power over territorial and maritime disputes in the region.

Under the terms of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, China made a declaration in 2006, excluding disputes over maritime delimitation and territorial sovereignty from compulsory dispute settlement procedures.