A pointless exercise in futility

By seeking arbitration the Philippines is seeking to 'legitimize' and gain US support for its invasion of China's territory

In January 2013, after the Philippines submitted the South China Sea dispute to the compulsory dispute settlement mechanism under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, China made it clear that in accordance with the Convention it would neither accept nor participate in international arbitration. However, regardless of Beijing's opposition, Manila insisted in pushing forward its bid for international arbitration on the dispute.

On March 30, 2014, the Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario made a statement announcing the country had officially filed a case against China on the South China Sea dispute with the international arbitration tribunal, requesting the tribunal uphold the country's right to exploit waters within a 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone and proclaim China is violating international law with its sovereignty claims in the South China Sea.