New arbitration case vs China still an option

The Philippines has not ruled out filing a new arbitration case against Beijing over its growing assertion of its maritime claims in the South China Sea, though the National Maritime Council says the option will have to be “studied carefully.”

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“It’s an option. It needs to be studied carefully. It’s on the part of the executive,” National Maritime Council spokesperson Alexander Lopez told reporters Monday, September 1, when asked whether a new arbitration case against China would be filed within the term of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

“The DOJ has said it is an option. It’s still an option,” Lopez said in mixed English and Filipino. “But regarding what case will be filed and when it will be filed, it depends on the executive.”

Recent years have seen mounting pressure from maritime experts and advocates for the government to respond more strongly to China’s repeated harassment of Philippine vessels in the West Philippine Sea — the part of the South China Sea that is within Manila’s exclusive economic zone.