China offers PH incentives to quit ITLOS case

According to several sources, China has offered the Philippines incentives if it agrees to quit pursuing a pleading with the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). The incentives include a withdrawal of ships from the disputed Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal and pledges of investments. In exchange, the Philippines was asked not to submit a written pleading, called a memorial, to the ITLOS by the March 30 deadline. The Philippines is building up a case at the ITLOS against China’s 9-dash claim over a vast area of the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). President Benigno Aquino III convened his entire Cabinet in the last week of January to discuss China’s offer. The Cabinet was divided on the issue, according to palace sources.


On Tuesday, February 25, the DFA summoned the Chinese embassy’s chargé d’affaires to “strongly protest the efforts of China to prohibit Filipino fishermen from undertaking fishing activities in the Philippines’ Bajo de Masinloc.” The Chinese embassy rejected the Philippine protest and urged the government to resolve differences through bilateral consultations and negotiations. The Philippine military transferred command of the area around Panatag Shoal (Scarborough) to the Western Command (Wescom), in a move meant to unify coverage over disputed territory in the West Philippine Sea (East China Sea).


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