HONG KONG - The Philippines '
legal challenge against China 's
claims in the South China Sea is gathering pace, emerging as a "proxy
battle" over Beijing 's
territorial reach.
Any result will be unenforceable, legal experts say, but
will carry considerable moral and political weight.
The Philippines
has invested a "huge amount of political capital in this legal gambit and
it wants to ensure success regardless of the cost," said security scholar
Ian Storey of Singapore 's Institute of South East Asian Studies
"If the Philippine team submits a less than convincing
case...this would be very embarrassing for Manila
and put it right back to square one in its dispute with China .
"Beijing
would also be emboldened to pursue its claims even more assertively than it has
been doing over the past few years."
Beyond the legal questions, the case carries political and
diplomatic risks and is being closely watched by Japan
and Vietnam , locked in their
own disputes with China
over sea territory, officials from both countries say.
The United States ,
which is deepening military ties with the Philippines , a longstanding treaty
ally, is also watching.
The legal battle mirrors tensions at sea, where China and the Philippines
eye each other over rival occupations of the Scarborough
and Second Thomas shoals.
Chinese vessels occupied Scarborough after a tense two-month
standoff between rival vessels last year - a move some regional analysts have
described as an effective annexation by Beijing .
The Philippines
accused China of further
encroachment when a naval frigate and two other ships steamed within five
nautical miles of a dilapidated transport ship that Manila ran aground on Second Thomas Shoal in
1999 to mark its territory.
One Asian envoy from a non-claimant country said: "We
are watching and worrying about an accident or miscalculation sparking an armed
confrontation. So in some ways this growing legal fight looks like the proxy
battle, you could say."
Overlapping claims in the South China Sea - traversed by
half the world's shipping tonnage - are one of the region's biggest flashpoints
amid China 's military
build-up and the U.S.
strategic "pivot" back to Asia .
The claims of the Philippines ,
Vietnam , Malaysia and Brunei
are bisected by China 's
"nine-dash line" - the historic claim that reaches deep into the
maritime heart of Southeast Asia .
European states, Russia ,
India and South Korea are also monitoring
events, given the sea's shipping lanes and potential oil and gas resources,
diplomats and military officials say.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/71686/manilas-un-challenge-vs-china-over-disputed-waters-gathers-pace-behind-formidable-legal-team
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