12 July 2024 – The Philippine Embassy in Ankara held an event in commemoration of the 8th anniversary of the South China Sea Arbitration Award on 12 July 2024 at the Embassy.
Photo: Ambassador Henry S. Bensurto Jr. giving a talk on the 8th anniversary of the South China Sea Arbitration Award (Embassy photo)
“In the context of geopolitical realities in the Asia Pacific region, and like other countries, the Philippines would like to have good neighborly relations with everyone, including our northern neighbor” said Ambassador Henry S. Bensurto Jr. in his introductory message.
During the program, Third Secretary and Vice Consul Emile Josef B. Garcia read the statement of the Secretary Foreign Affairs Enrique A. Manalo on the 8th anniversary of the 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea. The Embassy also acknowledged the statements of support of the United States of America, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Norway, Germany, France, Canada, Japan, and Australia, among others to the 2016 Arbitral Award.
Third Secretary and Vice Consul Angela Tolentino gave the audience a timeline of the arbitral award from its filing on 22 January 2013 until the issuance of the ruling on 12 July 2016. She introduced the keynote speaker of the event, Ambassador Bensurto, who was a critical member of the Philippine legal team on the South China Sea arbitration case as lead counsel of the Department of Foreign Affairs component.
Photo: Attendees to the talk on the 8th anniversary of the South China Sea Arbitration Award (Embassy photo)
The audience were shown recent videos on the situation in the South China Sea, demonstrating China’s disregard of the Arbitral Award and the rule of law.
Ambassador Bensurto said that Ayungin Shoal is in the continental shelf of the Philippines. And therefore China has no right to block us, to require us to seek their permission.
“It’s ours. Why should we seek permission of another in our own backyard?” Ambassador Bensurto asked.
Ambassador Bensurto gave a brief overview of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, maritime features (i.e. islands, rocks, or low tide elevations), maritime entitlements (i.e. territorial sea, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone, continental shelf, and extended continental shelf), and other basic principles.
Photo: Ambassador Henry S. Bensurto Jr. giving a talk on the 8th anniversary of the South China Sea Arbitration Award (Embassy photo)
During his talk, Ambassador Bensurto discussed the three main reasons on why the Philippines went into arbitration, namely: China’s expansionist policy, China’s creeping assertion in the South China Sea since the 1970s (the Battle of the Paracel Islands), and difference between the diplomacy efforts of the Philippines and China. Since the 1970s, China has been engaged in appeasement efforts after increasing tensions and aggressions whenever they would occupy a maritime feature in the South China Sea.
He said that the Philippines tried very hard to use bilateral diplomacy as the primary tool to clarify what is ours and what is China’s to facilitate authentic and robust cooperation, but unfortunately, China’s purpose in its bilateral strategy in the South China is different from the objectives that the Philippines is trying to accomplish.
The Ambassador discussed the 15 submissions of the Philippines before the Tribunal, including the supplemental 16th submission made by Taiwan on Itu Aba, as the largest feature in the South China Sea. He said that these submissions could be categorized into three (3) main issues: The Nine Dash Line, the character of the maritime features in the South China Sea, and marine environment destruction. And in all issues, the Tribunal found China to be in violation.
Photo: Ambassador Henry S. Bensurto Jr. giving a talk on the 8th anniversary of the South China Sea Arbitration Award (Embassy photo)
With the aid of illustrative maps, Ambassador Bensurto showed how the 2016 Arbitral Award clarified the disputed areas of the South China Sea. As the character of the maritime features in the South China Sea were clarified by the Tribunal as not islands entitled to 200 nautical miles, but as mere rocks or low tide elevations, then the maritime entitlements they generated became clear.
Prior to the Arbitration, out of about 550,000 square kilometers of the Philippine EEZ, around 540,000 square meters was disputed. After Arbitration, only about 13,000 square kilometers of Philippine EEZ remain disputed.
Photo: Ambassador Henry S. Bensurto Jr. giving a talk on the 8th anniversary of the South China Sea Arbitration Award (Embassy photo)
Ambassador Bensurto concluded his talk by discussing the proposed way forward, the Zone of Peace, Freedom, Friendship, and Cooperation (ZoPFFC), which was officially submitted by the Philippines to ASEAN in 2011. In the areas that remain disputed between claimant states, there may be a Joint Cooperation Area governed by a Code of Conduct agreed upon the parties.
“Rule of law is the tie that binds us in the community of nations. And if that rule of law breaks down, that political structure that has promoted peace after WWII is going to crumble.” Said Ambassador Bensurto. “And what is the solution? Do we give up rule of law? I think there are no other viable alternatives but only to stand for the rule of law with all its difficulties. We have to move forward,” he concluded.
Photo: Av. Selim Sarıibrahimoğlu, Consul General, a.h. of Iceland asking a question during the Q&A portion (Embassy photo)
The event was attended by over 40 people from the diplomatic community, Turkish government officials, and members of the academe. The full talk was also broadcasted live and may be viewed on the Embassy’s official Facebook account @PHinTurkey.
To mark the anniversary of the 2016 Arbitral Ruling, the Embassy also circulated a Note Verbale to the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and all Diplomatic Missions in Ankara. END.
