The Philippines has called for a “truly just solution” to China’s claims to disputed islands in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) as an international tribunal wrapped up five days of hearings on the issue. Del Rosario warned that if the tribunal ruled that China has a potential entitlement to 200 miles “on the basis of a speck of broken coral and sand in the middle of the South China Sea,” it would hand Beijing the “golden key.” Filipinos, he said,“would only be able to benefit from the natural resources of our EEZ [esclusive economic zone] and continental shelf on China’s terms, if at all.” Manila has called for the tribunal, which is more than a century old, to rule on the dispute, appealing to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Valente, C. S. (2015, December 2). PH wants ‘truly just solution’ to sea row. The Manila Times, p. A3.