Statement of Justice Antonio T.

Carpio On Bilateral Negotiations

Between China and the Philippines

The South China Sea dispute involves several territorial and maritime claims:

1. The conflicting territorial claims over the whole or portions of the Spratlys involving
5 states: China, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei;
2. The conflicting territorial claims over the Paracels between China and Vietnam;
3. The conflicting territorial claims over Scarborough Shoal between China and the
Philippines;
4. The overlapping maritime claims over the waters surrounding the Spratlys involving
4 coastal states: China, Vietnam, Philippines, and Malaysia;
5. The overlapping maritime claims involving China and Brunei;
6. The overlapping maritime claims over the northern portion of the waters
surrounding Natuna Islands involving China and Indonesia;
7. The overlapping maritime claims between China and the Philippines in the West
Philippine Sea outside the waters surrounding the Spratlys and Scarborough Shoal;

Clearly, the South China Sea dispute involves both bilateral and multilateral disputes.
A bilateral negotiation between China and the Philippines can take up only the
bilateral disputes between China and the Philippines (items 3 and 7) and not the
multilateral disputes involving not only China and the Philippines but also other
states. Also, the bilateral disputes between China and the Philippines are intimately
related to all the multilateral disputes and all the other bilateral disputes because
Chinas territorial and maritime claims are both based on Chinas nine-dashed line
theory.

The South China Sea dispute also affects non-claimant states, both within ASEAN
and outside ASEAN, since China has not explained its nine-dashed line claim, which
covers 85.7% of the South China Sea. These non-claimant states, which include the
U.S., Japan and Australia, are worried how Chinas expansive claim will affect
freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea, for both commercial
and military vessels and aircraft.

The Arbitral Award resolved only the maritime dispute between China and the
Philippines. The Award is binding only between China and the Philippines, although
the arbitral award, as a decision of an international tribunal, is one of the sources of
international law that can be invoked by other coastal states in a separate
arbitration against China.
A bilateral negotiation between China and the Philippines on the enforcement of
the Arbitral Award will be a logical step as the Award is binding only between China
and the Philippines. However, this will not resolve the territorial dispute between
China and the Philippines. Neither will it resolve the multilateral disputes involving
China, the Philippines and other states. Nevertheless, any bilateral negotiation
between China and the Philippines on the enforcement of the Arbitral Award is a
positive development.