WEST PHILIPPINE SEA | US backs Philippines, slams China’s ‘piece of waste paper’ statement

July 14, 2021 , 02:59 PM

By Kiko Demigillo

(July 14, 2021) – The United States (US) State Department on Wednesday called out China after belittling the Philippines’ arbitral ruling victory on the West Philippine Sea, calling it “nothing more than a piece of waste paper.”

US State Department spokesperson Ned Price pointed out that China is under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS), so it must follow the 2016 verdict that affirmed the Philippines’ rights over the West Philippine Sea.

“(China) has agreed to abide by compulsory dispute settlement with regard to arbitration. But by ignoring the 2016 arbitral tribunal ruling on the South China Sea and dismissing it, as you said, as a mere scrap of paper, Beijing is in clear violation of its obligations under UNCLOS,” said Price in a press briefing.

Price also clarified that the US intervened in the issue, not because of its tensions with China, but to ensure free and safe mobility in the highly disputed waters.

“This is not a question of the United States against the People’s Republic of China or any other country. For us, this is an affirmative policy of the free and open Indo-Pacific and beyond that, the rules-based international system that every country in the world, big and small, has an obligation to abide by,” said Price.

On Tuesday, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian dismissed the historic ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration a day after the Philippines marked its fifth anniversary.

Zhao also called the landmark decision “null and void” and later went on to criticize the US for an “extremely irresponsible” statement released by US State Secretary Anthony Blinken.

“It is nothing more than a piece of waste paper. China does not accept or participate in the arbitration, nor does it accept or recognize the award,” said Zhao. “The US statement breaks the US government’s long-held public commitment of not taking a position on the South China Sea sovereignty issue.”

The same sentiment was made by President Rodrigo Duterte last May when he said that the arbitral ruling is just “a piece of paper to be thrown to the waste bin.”

Maritime experts and former government officials sounded the alarm following the bold comment, stressing the country is bound by Duterte’s statements.

“That statement will be a cause for a big celebration in Beijing. They’ll be jumping with joy because that’s what they want to hear,” said former Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio last May 5.

Price reiterated that China, which Duterte has repeatedly called a “good friend,” must adhere to the UNCLOS and accept the arbitral ruling on the West Philippine Sea.

“We do endorse the unanimous, decisive ruling that was put forward by the arbitral council. So if you want to ask about which country is being more faithful to the principles that undergird UNCLOS, I think you have a pretty clear answer,” said Price. (PM)

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