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MANILA, Philippines -- Two international experts said on Friday that China's extensive nine-dash line claim on virtually the entire West Philippine Sea -- which Beijing anchors on history -- lacks merit under modern international laws.
But rival claimants like the Philippines may find it tough to bring the long-hanging territorial disputes to international arbitration because of the usually long time it takes to resolve such rifts and the need for China's approval before any case could be considered for arbitration, the experts said.
With the Association of Southeast Asian Nations unable to effectively help bring about a resolution because of its policy of deciding by consensus -- which empowers just one of its 10 member countries to block any proposed solution -- the best option for now may be for bilateral or multilateral negotiations or shelving the conflicts to allow joint development of contested areas, according to the experts.
Asked to assess China's nine-dash line territorial claim, University of Chicago Law School Prof. Tom Ginsburg, who specializes on International Law and Political Science, said Beijing's claim did not hold much merit under current international laws.
A recent Chinese move to establish a new city called Sansha under its southern Hainan province to politically administer China's claimed territories in the West Philippine Sea or South China Sea was a sort of an acknowledgement of the inadequacy of its nine-dash claim.
"It doesn't have much merit from the point of view of the modern international law of the sea. I don't think you'd find a modern international lawyer who would say it's compatible with the general understandings of the law of the sea," Ginsburg told reporters on the sidelines of the Angara Center for Law and Economics Forum Friday.
China's recent move to bring all its claimed South China Sea areas under the ambit of the recently-established "Sansha City" was "an internal recognition that the nine- dash line on its own is not enough to make a viable claim," Ginsburg said.
"If you do have a populated territory, then the maritime baselines can be calculated from that place. Extending populated areas in the South China Sea is an effective strategy from the law of the sea," he added.
Top arbitration lawyer Yas Banifatemi, of the Paris-based Shearman & Streling, said China's historical basis for its huge territorial claims is a throw-back in time that could no longer be used and cited under modern-day laws, where the international community subscribes to and uphold.
Asked if China's historical basis for its claims would hold water, Banifatemi replied: "No, I don't think so."
"It was something that was done in certain circumstances and certain people in different context and history and economic context and that's over," she told reporters at the conference held in Sofitel Hotel.
"They have to take international law as it exists and to achieve something that is compatible with the principles of international law that exists today," she added.
China, Banifatemi said, "should abide by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea definitely because China is covered by the provisions of the convention.”
Benifatemi was referring to the 1982 treaty that bestows coastal states, like the Philippines, the right to manage, develop and exploit resources in areas covered by its EEZ.
It is signed by the Philippines, China and 162 other states.
The West Philippine Sea -- a strategic and resource-rich waterway where a bulk of the world's trade pass -- had been a source of conflict among competing claimants such as four ASEAN members -- Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei -- and China and Taiwan. Other ASEAN members are Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.
South China Sea is dotted with islands, reefs, cays, shoals and rock formations and is believed to be rich in natural gas and oil deposits.
Analysts feared that the competing claims could spark a military conflict in the region.
In the latest flare-out between Manila and Beijing, the two Asian neighbors had been engaged in a standoff from April to June this year when Chinese vessels intruded into a shoal called Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough, which Philippine officials say is part of its territory.
Vietnam likewise protested what it calls increasing Chinese aggression in the resource-rich waters. Beijing recently tendered bids for several gas and oil exploration areas within Hanoi’s waters.
Further complicating the situation is China’s recent establishment of Sansha City - a move protested by Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia.
Although experts say a major war in the South China Sea is not likely, they have not ruled out accidental and limited armed skirmishes and have urged countries to use diplomatic means to resolve their conflicting claims.
The United States, which has been reasserting its role as an Asia-Pacific power, has declared that the peaceful resolution and freedom of navigation in the waters is in its national interest.
It has been helping the Philippines and Vietnam with military hardware and joint military exercises amid the territorial rifts, which has renewed tensions in the region.