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Permanent Court Of Arbitration News

25 Mar 2024

China Coastguard Uses Water Cannons Against Philippine Ships

(Photo: Philippine Armed Forces)

China's coastguard said it had taken measures against Philippine vessels in disputed waters of the South China Sea on Saturday, while the Philippines decried the moves, including the use of water cannons, as "irresponsible and provocative".China's actions led to "significant damage" and injury to personnel on a civilian boat hired to resupply troops, the Philippine task force on the South China Sea said in a statement.The incident occurred in the Second Thomas Shoal and Spratly Islands waters, according to the Chinese coastguard.

05 Mar 2024

Philippines Summons China Diplomat Over 'Aggressive' Actions in South China Sea

© luzitanija / Adobe Stock

The Philippines summoned China's deputy chief of mission in Manila on Tuesday to protest what it called "aggressive actions" by Chinese naval forces against a resupply mission for Filipino troops stationed on a South China Sea shoal.Manila's South China Sea task force said Philippine vessels carrying out the routine mission to the Second Thomas Shoal were "harassed (and) blocked" by Chinese maritime militia and coast guard ships on Tuesday.Chinese coast guard ships fired water cannon…

12 Feb 2024

Philippines Accuses China of Dangerous Maneuvers Near Scarborough Shoal

(Photo: Philippine Coast Guard)

The Philippines' coast guard (PCG) on Sunday accused China of "dangerous and blocking" manoeuvres while its vessel patrolled near Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea this month.Manila's coast guard said in a statement that on a nine-day patrol near the shoal by its 97-meter (318-foot) vessel BRP Teresa Magbanua, four Chinese coast guard (CCG) vessels had shadowed the boat more than 40 times.Four Chinese maritime militia vessels were also present near the shoal, the PCG said.Located within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone (EEZ)…

10 Dec 2023

Philippines, China Trade Accusations over South China Sea Collision

© olinchuk / Adobe Stock

The Philippines and China traded accusations on Sunday over a collision of their vessels near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea as tensions over claims in the vital waterway escalate.The Philippine coast guard accused China of firing water cannons and ramming resupply vessels and a coast guard ship, causing "serious engine damage" to one, while China's coast guard said the Philippine vessel intentionally rammed its ship.China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce…

23 Oct 2023

Philippines Says Chinese Coastguard 'Intentionally' Collided with Its Boats

(Photo: Armed Forces of the Philippines)

The Philippines on Monday accused Chinese coastguard vessels of "intentionally" colliding with its vessels on a resupply mission in a disputed part of the South China Sea, as ties deteriorated between the Southeast Asian U.S. ally and Beijing.Both sides traded accusations after the latest incident on Sunday, which was the most serious yet in the waters around the disputed Second Thomas shoal, though no one was harmed.China said on Sunday that the Philippine boats "bumped dangerously" with the coastguard vessels and "Chinese fishing vessels" fishing there.On Monday…

10 Apr 2023

Malaysia Defends Its Energy Ops in the South China Sea

The Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Copyright gumbao/AdobeStock

Malaysia said on Saturday it was firmly committed to protecting its sovereign rights and interests in the South China Sea after China expressed concern about Malaysian energy projects in a part of the sea that China also claims.Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said China was worried about activity by the state energy firm Petronas in a part of the South China Sea that Malaysia says is its territory.Anwar said he was open to negotiations with China, drawing criticism from the opposition…

16 Jan 2023

Indonesia Dispatches Warship to Monitor Chinese Coast Guard Vessel Near Offshore Fields

©Harbour Energy

Indonesia has deployed a warship to its North Natuna Sea to monitor a Chinese coast guard vessel that has been active in a resource-rich maritime area, the country's naval chief said on Saturday of an area that both countries claim as their own.Ship tracking data shows the vessel, CCG 5901, has been sailing in the Natuna Sea, particularly near the Tuna Bloc gas field and the Vietnamese Chim Sao oil and gas field since Dec. 30, the Indonesian Ocean Justice Initiative told Reuters.A warship…

12 Jul 2021

China Says It 'Drove Away' US Warship

(Photo: Nathan Burke / U.S. Navy)

China's military said it "drove away" a U.S. warship that illegally entered Chinese waters near the Paracel Islands on Monday, the anniversary of an international court ruling that held Beijing had no claim over the South China Sea.The USS Benfold entered the waters without China's approval, seriously violating its sovereignty and undermining the stability of the South China Sea, the southern theatre command of the People's Liberation Army said."We urge the United States to immediately stop such provocative actions…

28 Jul 2020

Duterte Says Cannot Confront China Over Maritime Claims

© Sonate / Adobe Stock

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday said he had no choice but to treat disputes in the South China Sea as diplomatic endeavors because the alternative was to go to war with China.Duterte was speaking in defense of his government’s decision not to press a 2016 decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which went in favor of the Philippines in a case against China.During his annual address to the nation, Duterte said China was in possession of territory that his country did not have the capability to challenge militarily, adding “we cannot go to war”.(Reporting by Neil Jerome Mo

09 Apr 2018

Philippines Eyes Exploration Deal with China in S.China Sea

The Philippines is looking to seal a pact with China within a few months to jointly explore for oil and gas in a part of the busy South China Sea waterway claimed by both countries, a Philippine official said on Monday. In February, the two countries agreed to set up a special panel to work out how to jointly explore for offshore oil and gas in areas both sides claim, without needing to address the touchy issue of sovereignty. "We're trying to see if we can achieve an agreement, hopefully within the next couple of months," Jose Santiago Santa Romana, Philippine ambassador to the People's Republic of China, told a news conference held on China's island province of Hainan.

15 Aug 2017

Philippines says China Will Halt Expansion in South China Sea

China has assured the Philippines it will not occupy new features or territory in the South China Sea, under a new "status quo" brokered by Manila as both sides try to strengthen their relations, the Philippine defence minister said. Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano also said the Philippines was working on a "commercial deal" with China to explore and exploit oil and gas resources in disputed areas of the South China Sea with an aim to begin drilling within a year. The defence minister, Delfin Lorenzana, told a congressional hearing the Philippines and China had reached a "modus vivendi", or a way to get along, in the South China Sea that prohibits new occupation of islands.

14 Jul 2017

North Natuna Sea: Striking at China Claims

Indonesia renamed the northern reaches of its exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea as the North Natuna Sea on Friday, the latest act of resistance by Southeast Asian nations to China's territorial ambitions in the maritime region. Seen by analysts as an assertion of Indonesian sovereignty, part of the renamed sea is claimed by China under its contentious maritime boundary, known as the 'nine-dash line', that encompasses most of the resource-rich sea. Several Southeast Asian states dispute China's territorial claims and are competing with China to exploit the South China Sea's abundant hydrocarbon and fishing resources. China has raised the ante by deploying military assets on artificial islands constructed on shoals and reefs in disputed parts of the sea.

12 Jul 2017

Drilling in Disputed South China Sea may Resume

Drilling for oil and natural gas on the Reed Bank in the South China Sea may resume before the end of the year, a Philippine energy official said on Wednesday, as the government prepares to offer new blocks to investors in bidding in December. The Philippines suspended exploration at the Reed Bank, which it calls Recto Bank, in late 2014, as it pursued international arbitration over territorial disputes. The bank is in waters claimed by China. Ismael Ocampo, director at the Department of Energy's Resource Development Bureau, told reporters the agency expected the suspension to be lifted in December. He said a directive from the Department of Foreign Affairs directing the Department of Energy to resume oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea was already in the works.

19 May 2017

China Threatened War If Philippines Drills for Oil -Duterte

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Friday Chinese counterpart China Xi Jinping had warned him there would be war if Manila tried to enforce an arbitration ruling and drill for oil in a disputed part of the South China Sea. In remarks that could infuriate China, Duterte hit back at domestic critics who said he has gone soft on Beijing by refusing to push it to comply with an award last year by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which ruled largely in favor of the Philippines. Duterte said he discussed it with Xi when the two met in Beijing on Monday, and got a firm, but friendly warning. "We intend to drill oil there…

10 Apr 2017

China Asserts Its Power at Strategic Shoal

Far out in the South China Sea, where dark blue meets bright turquoise, a miles-long row of fishing boats anchor near Scarborough Shoal, backed by a small armada of coastguard projecting China's power in Asia's most disputed waters. China still calls the shots at the prime fishing spot and has boosted its fleet there, nine months after an international panel ruled its blockade of the lagoon was illegal. Beijing rejected that ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which invalidated China's claim of sovereignty over most of the South China Sea. But the presence of Philippine boats dotted between Chinese vessels shows a degree of compliance with the ruling.

21 Nov 2016

With China's Support, Duterte to Ban Fishing in Disputed Lagoon

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will issue an executive order declaring part of the disputed Scarborough Shoal a marine sanctuary off-limits to all fishermen, a move his office said was supported by Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. Duterte will make a unilateral declaration barring fishermen from exploiting marine life at a tranquil lagoon that was central to years of bitter squabbling, and the basis of an arbitration case brought and won by the Philippines. The dispute over the Scarborough Shoal is one of several involving South East Asian countries seeking to counter China's growing assertiveness in the South China Sea. Since 2012…

02 Nov 2016

South China Sea Arbitration: Implications for Maritime and O&G

(Credit: Blank Rome LLC)

A recent decision by an international tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, has significant implications for other maritime disputes, freedom of navigation, and future oil and gas claims in the Arctic. The arbitral award issued on July 12, 2016, by a unanimous five-member panel or Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in the dispute between the Philippines and China over rocks and elevations in the South China Sea, sounded a clarion call for the rule of law and the clearly defined…

31 Oct 2016

China: Scarborough Shoal 'Situation' Unchanged

China said on Monday the situation at the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea "has not changed and will not change", after the Philippines said Chinese vessels that blocked the area for four years had stopped harassing its fishermen. Philippine security officials on Sunday said China had scaled down its maritime presence at the shoal since President Rodrigo Duterte's return from a visit to Beijing aimed at patching-up ties and courting investment. The disputed territory is significant not only for fishing, but for the broader balance of power in the South China Sea, and the circumstances behind China's apparent softening of its position are not clear.

28 Oct 2016

Philippines Says Chinese Vessels Have Left Disputed Shoal

Chinese ships are no longer at the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea and Philippine boats can resume fishing, the Philippine defence minister said on Friday, calling the Chinese departure a "welcome development". Philippine fishermen can access the shoal unimpeded for the first time in four years, Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said, capping off a startling turnaround in ties since his country rattled China by challenging its maritime claims at an international tribunal. The departure of the Chinese coast guard ships comes after President Rodrigo Duterte's high-profile visit to Beijing and his repeated requests for China to end its blockade of the shoal, a tranquil lagoon rich in fish stocks.

28 Oct 2016

Philippines: China Vessels Departed Scarborough Shoal

Unimpeded access for first time in 4 yrs. Ships' departure follows Philippine president's visit to China. Chinese ships are no longer at the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea and Philippine boats can resume fishing, the Philippine defence minister said on Friday, calling the Chinese departure a "welcome development". Philippine fishermen could access the shoal unimpeded for the first time in four years, Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said, capping off a startling turnaround in ties since his country rattled China in 2013 by challenging its maritime claims at an international tribunal. The departure of the Chinese coastguard comes after President Rodrigo Duterte's high-profile visit to Beijing and follows his repeated requests for China to end its blockade of the shoal…

03 Oct 2016

Choke Points are Flash Points

Aircraft assigned to Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 9 fly in formation above USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) and the guided-missile destroyer USS Stockdale (DDG 106) during an air-and-sea-power demonstration. Providing a ready force supporting security and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific, John C. Stennis is operating as part of the Great Green Fleet on a regularly scheduled 7th Fleet deployment. (U.S. Navy photo by Tomas Compian)

The world is closely watching several contentious flash points that have potential to ignite. The behavior and rhetoric of China and Russia regarding vital shipping lanes in international waters have been alarming. Disputed sovereignty claims and efforts to enforce them have the maritime world on edge. China’s nine-dash line claims about owning the entire East and South China Sea have created a dilemma for themselves and the other nations in the region. The Philippines v. China case with the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague commenced on Jan.

26 Sep 2016

The Hague to Arbitrate East Timor-Australia Maritime Dispute

The Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague will oversee a compulsory arbitration between East Timor and Australia on their maritime boundary, it said on Monday, rejecting Australian objections. East Timor asked for the process which could decide on which side of the border lies a large oil and gas field over which the two countries have a revenue-sharing agreement. The island nation said Australian espionage on its diplomats rendered recent agreements between them flawed. Australia has resisted negotiating a permanent border until 2056 at the earliest. The conciliation process will take place behind closed doors over the next year, the court said. (Reporting by Toby Sterling

27 Jul 2016

Cambodia Urged ASEAN to Avoid Words That Escalate Tension

Cambodia advised a grouping of South East Asian nations to avoid using words that "would escalate tension between China and the Philippines" in a weekend statement, the country's foreign ministry said on Wednesday. Cambodia's support for China's position on an international court ruling denying the Asian giant's claims in the South China Sea handed Beijing a diplomatic victory when the grouping's ministers met on Sunday. The bloc, which follows an overriding principle of making decisions by consensus, omitted reference to the ruling after its first meeting following the decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague in favour of the Philippines.