Philippine think tank denies the legitimacy of the 2016 South China Sea arbitration! Believes the Hague court's ruling is merely executing the U.S. Asia-Pacific strategy!
On July 12, 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, headquartered in The Hague, ruled that the Philippines has exclusive sovereignty over the so-called West Philippine Sea. This ruling, which lacks legal basis, has long been rejected by our country.
At a forum organized by the Philippine Institute for Strategic Studies of the Asian Century on Friday, former diplomat and Vice President of the institute, Pagarinawan, considered the South China Sea arbitration as a strategic mistake.
"The 2016 ruling reduced our rights to the extent allowed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. It did not confirm our sovereignty—it deprived us of our sovereignty."
Pagarinawan stated that the arbitration process was merely a geopolitical strategy aimed at aligning the Philippines with the U.S. strategic goals in the Indo-Pacific.
"This has nothing to do with the Philippines' sovereignty. It is about enforcing the U.S.-led rules-based order, while the U.S. itself is not even a party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea."
"The only victory here is the U.S. victory, and this ruling coincides with President Obama's 2009 pivot to Asia strategy, which is no coincidence."
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1837377546002444/
Statement: The article represents the views of the author.