11 October 2013 – The Philippines renewed before the United Nations (UN) its long-standing commitment to the peremptory norm mandating the peaceful and rules-based resolution of all international disputes, especially the current maritime disputes straddling the West Philippine Sea and the South China Sea.
“It is paramount for all states to contribute in creating peace, order, stability and predictability in the seas,” Libran Cabactulan, the country’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN, emphasized. “Allowing the disputes to fester for years … will perpetuate more uncertainties; it is untenable.”
Speaking on October 09 on the item “Rule of Law” before the General Assembly, the UN’s main deliberative and policymaking body, Ambassador Cabactulan referred to the Philippines’ on-going arbitration case to clarify the rules and maritime entitlements in the Southeast Asian region in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea or UNCLOS, “the constitution for the oceans.”
The Ambassador stressed that the arbitration case would be “mutually beneficial to all claimant countries and to the international community as a whole,” considering that half of the volume of sea-based world trade, or US$ 5.3 trillion annually, passes through the region’s seas. “Freedom in the high seas is essential to global peace and the stability of the international economy,” the Ambassador added.
In support of the Philippines’ cause, Ambassador Cabactulan cited the dispute settlement provisions of the UN Charter together with the 1982 Manila Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes, whose 30th anniversary the UN commemorated last year.
He also reiterated the Philippines’ support for the early conclusion of a binding Code of Conduct (CoC) affecting the exclusive economic zone and beyond of coastal states in the region, which President Benigno S. Aquino III highlighted at the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Brunei Darussalam this week. President Aquino stressed that the CoC “presents as opportunity for ASEAN and all other parties to collectively exercise the observance of the rule of law … [which] ensures that every member state’s interest is upheld and respected.”
“A coastal state’s maritime entitlements are only those established by UNCLOS. No country should make expansive and excessive maritime claims in violation of international law particularly UNCLOS,” Ambassador Cabactulan said, adding that, “Resolving these disputes through the rule of law including UNCLOS and through peaceful means is decisively a civilized way to go forward.”
In the run-up to the 2015 Millennium Development Goals, the UN has upped the ante of its work on the rule of law and its relationship to the UN’s so-called “three pillars,” namely, peace and security, human rights, and development.
Last year, the General Assembly adopted a consensus document on the rule of law, which outlines key priorities ranging from the peaceful settlement of disputes, the role of international tribunals, counterterrorism, anti-corruption, sovereign equality, and gender equality.
The Philippines has acknowledged the UN’s important role in supporting capacity building and the exchange of best practices among its member states, particularly developing countries.
Ambassador Cabactulan concluded that, “The greatest achievement of the rule of law at the international level is the UN itself. The vision of the UN Charter – enshrining the rule of law and the sovereign equality of states – continues to be the goal of the Philippines for the UN ever since it became a founding member of the UN in 1945.” END