By Chen Xiangmiao
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed the so-called "Maritime Zones Act" and "Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act" on November 8th, which illegally include China's Huangyan Dao and most of the islands and reefs of China's Nansha Qundao and relevant waters into the maritime zones of the Philippines. The move of the Philippines is not only an attempt to enshrine the illegal award of the South China Sea arbitration in the form of domestic legislation but also a hidden political move by the current government within the context of its new national security strategy and foreign policy.
In terms of timing, it took 13 years from the proposal to the final signing of the so-called "Maritime Zones Act" and the so-called "Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act" has also been in the works for a long time. So why did the Philippines choose to sign them at this moment? Chen Xiangmiao, an assistant research fellow of China's National Institute for South China Sea Studies, said that the signing of the two acts by the Philippines the day after the US election results were settled was not a coincidence, but a carefully planned move with three main considerations. The first is to take advantage of the turbulent international situation and the timing right after the US election to reduce the regional and international pressure that might arise from the signing of the acts. The second is an attempt to give a legal veneer to its illegal actions in the South China Sea, creating facts on the ground to pressure the next US administration into continuing to support the Philippines on the South China Sea issue. The third is to pledge its allegiance to the next US administration.
No matter how carefully the Philippines has planned, it is unlikely to achieve its desired outcome. The reason is simple. These two so-called acts severely violate China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights in the South China Sea, contravene the key principle of resolving differences through dialogue and consultation emphasized in the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, and undermine the existing international legal framework. They are illegal and invalid.
The Philippines attempts to domesticize the illegal ruling of the South China Sea arbitration case through the "Maritime Zones Act," but this cannot change the fact that the arbitration and its ruling are contrary to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and remain fundamentally a political farce. The illegal laws introduced by the Philippines violate the basic spirit of the law, highlighting the nature of political manipulation and the intention to illegally expand maritime rights and interests.
China has sovereignty over Nansha Qundao and the adjacent waters, and Zhongsha Qundao，including Huangyan Dao and the adjacent waters, and has sovereign rights and jurisdiction over relevant waters. The aforementioned territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests of China have a solid historical and legal basis. The territory of the Philippines is defined by a series of international treaties, including the 1898 Treaty of Peace Between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Spain (the Treaty of Paris), the 1900 Treaty Between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Spain for Cession of Outlying Islands of the Philippines (the Treaty of Washington), and so on. The Philippines' territory so defined has nothing to do with China's Huangyan Dao and Nansha Qundao.
As a party to the UNCLOS, the Philippines is using it as a tool for maritime and territorial expansion, severely infringing upon the rights of other countries. This will inevitably bring significant impacts to the South China Sea situation and the relationships between countries in the region.
Some analysts have pointed out that by solidifying its illegal claims through domestic legislation, the Philippines is essentially unilaterally denying the territorial sovereignty and maritime jurisdiction disputes between China and the Philippines over the islands and reefs. This undermines the basis for bilateral negotiations on South China Sea issues and significantly narrows the space for dialogue and cooperation between the two sides. In addition, if the Philippines escalates its illegal actions based on these two so-called acts, it will further exacerbate tensions in the South China Sea, bring more risks to regional peace, and pose new challenges to the consultations on the "Code of Conduct in the South China Sea." From these perspectives, the illegal nature of the acts introduced by the Philippines cannot be underestimated.
The South China Sea should be a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation. However, the actions taken by the Philippines go against the shared desire of the people in the region and have turned the Philippines into a major disruptor of regional peace and stability. China urges the Philippine side to immediately stop its illegal acts that infringe upon China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, and immediately stop any unilateral moves that may escalate disputes or complicate the situation. If the Philippines further infringes upon and provokes China in the South China Sea based on its illegal acts, China will respond resolutely.
(The author is an assistant research fellow of China's National Institute for South China Sea Studies.)
Editor's note: Originally published on news.cri.cn, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.
