On January 22, the Philippines fired a legal shot across China’s bow with Secretary of State Albert del Rosario’s announcement that Manila had submitted a motion to the United Nations requesting that China’s South China Sea claims be brought before an arbitral tribunal. China has consistently refused to negotiate its claims in the South China Sea, which overlap with those of the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, and Taiwan, in multilateral settings. China’s first official reaction to del Rosario’s announcement was unsurprising; it decried the decision and reiterated its “indisputable sovereignty” over the islands and adjacent waters of the South China Sea.

Poling, G. (2013, February 2). Manila begins legal proceedings over South China Sea claims. The Philippine Star, p. 14.