Hague ruling ‘put a stop’ to China’s island-building in disputed waters
But Philippine envoy admits tribunal’s decision did not affect Beijing’s claims in South China Sea
Manila’s victory in an international ruling on the South China Sea nearly a year ago has achieved little in persuading Beijing to give up its claims to the disputed waters, but it has deterred China from further land reclamation in the region, the top Philippine envoy to Beijing said on Wednesday.
The message was delivered by ambassador Jose Santiago Santa Romana to a group of Philippine media ahead of an official Sino-Philippine meeting about the disputes on Friday.
Manila was “able to prevent the reclamation of the Scarborough Shoal [by China] for one year” and also managed to extract concessions from Beijing on fishing rights near the shoal, Romana, a former Beijing-based journalist, said.
The message is seen as part of Philippine efforts to deflect criticism that President Rodrigo Duterte was too soft on Beijing over the maritime dispute, to pave the way for the Sino-Philippine meeting in Guiyang, Guizhou province on Friday.
Romana will chair the meeting with Vice-Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin. Liu was to meet senior diplomats from the ten Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Guiyang on Thursday.
China has shown little intention of softening its claim to what it sees as Chinese territory in the Scarborough Shoal.
