仁愛礁：菲律賓再度狀告中國

【Comment】

這是菲律賓繼黃岩島之後保護主權的後續司法行動。

仁愛礁英文名稱為 Second Thomas Shoal。1937年國民政府正式使用，1947年才改為自己的名稱，但當時已經流亡到台灣了。中國一直到1987年才首度到此地。

黃岩島進入國際仲裁，北京：Do Re Mi！

黃岩島之爭：美國律師助陣，中國不理

搶仁愛暗沙 菲國遞狀告中○自由（2014.03.30）http://www.libertytimes.com.tw/2014/new/mar/31/today-int8.htm

〔編譯詹立群／綜合報導〕菲律賓政府29日戲劇性地突破中國海警船封鎖，成功運補擱淺在南海仁愛暗沙的軍艦，並拍下中國「騷擾」證據，30日向聯合國正式遞狀，控告中國在南海宣示主權「違反國際法」，而且會「告到底」。

菲國外交部長羅薩里奧（Albert del Rosario）表示，馬尼拉已向聯合國仲裁法庭遞狀控告中國，捍衛菲國在南海的合法權益，保護後代子孫的未來，並保障世界各國的航行自由權利。中國據信是為了豐富的石油與天然氣資源而宣示南海主權，除菲國外，汶萊、越南與台灣也對南海不同海域聲稱擁有主權，菲國曾敦促各方共同推動國際仲裁。

菲國去年決定將南海主權爭端提交國際法庭仲裁，主張中國聲稱對南海80％戰略水域擁有主權、並控制8個島礁的「九段線」主張違法。馬尼拉30日遞交案件摘要（legal brief），所有官員皆拒絕透露這份10冊、共4千頁文件的細節。

菲國檢察總長哈爾德勒薩說，寄望位於德國漢堡的國際海洋法法庭，對於兩造的下一步提出建言。中國則拒絕參與仲裁，外交部發言人洪磊29日警告，不允許菲國侵占仁愛暗沙。

載有菲國士兵的漁船29日突破中國海警船圍堵，抵達仁愛暗沙，成功運補自1999年起就擱淺該處的軍艦，並替換駐艦人員。同日菲國總統府表示，南海爭議將會「告到底」，已準備面對中國的報復行動。

Philippines Seeks Arbitration at U.N. Over China's Claims in South China Sea○WSJ（2014.03.30）http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304157204579470951200661852?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702304157204579470951200661852.html

The Philippines filed an arbitration case Sunday with the United Nations over China's growing assertiveness in the South China Sea, raising the ante in a long-running dispute over who owns what in the strategic, energy-rich waters.

Manila has been preparing for months to file its challenge to China's claim to control everything within a broad expanse of the sea delineated by its so-called "nine-dash line."  The Philippines' submission is nearly 4,000 pages long, includes more than 40 maps and is aimed at countering Beijing's argument that controlling mostly submerged features such as reefs or shoals provides China with sovereignty over the sea, including some 80% of the Philippines' U.N.-declared exclusive economic zone.

The contested waters include areas potentially rich in oil and gas, as well as rich fishing waters such as Scarborough Shoal, where Philippine and Chinese vessels were locked in a standoff for nearly two months in 2012.

China so far has abstained from the proceedings in the matter, which the Philippines first raised in January under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.  Now that the case for arbitration has been filed, the UN tribunal will decide on what steps are to be taken next.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said on Sunday that seeking arbitration "is about defending what is legitimately ours" and securing a "just and durable solution grounded on International Law."

                                                                                                                       

China's foreign ministry dismissed the arbitration filing in a statement posted on its website Sunday night, reiterating its position that it considers the dispute a bilateral matter to be resolved through direct negotiations. "Regardless of how the Philippines packages its complaint, the direct cause of the dispute is illegal occupation of reefs in the South China Sea on the part of the Philippines," it said.

The Philippines' challenge comes as Manila engages in another protracted cat-and-mouse game to evade Chinese ships apparently attempting to blockade one of the Philippines' few outposts in the region: a rusting hulk marooned on Second Thomas Shoal.

A Philippine ship managed Saturday to slip past a Chinese vessel to resupply a small contingent of Filipino soldiers aboard the World War II-era Sierra Madre, which was steered onto Second Thomas Shoal in 1999.  The wreck is one of the Philippines' few visible claims to sovereignty in the South China Sea, something of a symbolic marker in efforts to withstand China's growing ambitions.

In recent weeks China has attempted to stop Philippine forces from resupplying the wreck, forcing the Philippines to conduct air drops.  Journalists from the Associated Press and other news organizations were aboard the Philippine supply vessel and reported hearing a Chinese coast guard ship warning it to stay away by radio.  The Philippine ship, carrying some 10 tons of food and water, slipped away after heading into shallower waters where the Chinese vessel couldn't follow.

China's foreign ministry said in a statement Saturday that "China will absolutely not allow the Philippines to occupy" Second Thomas Shoal.

The Philippine legal challenge to China's claims is perhaps a more significant display of resistance.

The waters, which carry around half of the world's trade, are also claimed in part by Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan and tensions have led to a series of confrontations in past decades. Any decision by the U.N. could bear on how the overlapping territorial claims are ultimately resolved and could stir tensions between China and the U.S.

The Obama administration infuriated Beijing in 2010 when then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described the free navigation of the South China Sea as being in America's "national interest."

China has since attempted to step up control, among other things dispatching nominally civilian coast guard vessels into disputed waters. Beijing argues each territorial dispute should be resolved on a bilateral basis. Washington and the Association of Southeast Asian want a multilateral, rules-based approach.