Manila has no locus standi in sea case

A Foreign Ministry document on the Philippines' move to take the South China Sea dispute to an international tribunal for arbitration reiterates that China will not accept, let alone participate, in such kind of adjudication. The document, issued on Sunday, explains why the tribunal has no jurisdiction over the dispute.

Aside from the greater issues Manila's arbitration request involves, the "mandatory arbitration" it is seeking before fulfilling some prior procedural obligations is also an important reason why the tribunal should not take up the case. According to Article 288 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, whether or not a court or tribunal has jurisdiction over any dispute between parties depends on whether the dispute is submitted in accordance with part XV of the Convention. And Article 286 also says that any dispute on the interpretation or application of the Convention shall, where no settlement has been reached by recourse to section 1, be submitted at the request of any party to the dispute to the court or tribunal having jurisdiction under this section.

A study of the relevant clauses of the document shows Manila has not fulfilled the obligations of "settling the dispute by peaceful means" and "exchanging views with other parties to the dispute" before taking the dispute to the tribunal.