Palace: China’s rejection on int’l tribunal ruling is immaterial

West Philippine Sea (PNA Photo)

The Palace said on Monday that whether China accepts or not the ruling of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) tribunal on the South China Sea is immaterial under international law.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque slammed the recent criticism of Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio sent to CNN Philippines saying that it would be “dumb” if the Philippines would allow China to explore Philippine Rise despite China’s disregard on the ruling of the UNCLOS tribunal that China had no legal basis and Philippines has sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea.

Roque stressed that the arbitral tribunal is considered a binding legal principle whether countries would accept it or not.

“In international law, the decision itself is the implementation of the law because that’s a statement of the rights of the parties which cannot be extinguished and which does not depend on any country accepting its binding nature. That’s the nature of international law,” Roque said.

“So, hindi ko talaga maintindihan [I don’t really understand], with all due respect to Justice Carpio, he really is recognized as the intellectual heavyweight in the court ‘no, why he insists that any country including China must accept it. Whether or not they accept it, it’s there and that’s the binding nature of international law. Why is it binding on China whether or not it accepts? Because it’s there,” he added.

Roque also said that it is not for the Philippines to compel any state to accept the tribunal ruling.

“What is the self-implementing nature of international law is the fact that the decision exists. That’s it,” Roque said.

China has earlier rejected the international tribunal ruling and declared that it would not participate in the arbitration saying that “China does not accept any means of third-party dispute settlement or any solution imposed on China.”

Earlier, President Rodrigo Duterte revealed that China warned his administration that there would be war if the Philippine will insist on its ownership in the disputed West Philippine Sea.

China’s military is known as one of the world’s most powerful.