Zubiri wants China’s repeated violations of WPS ruling reported to UN

A lawmaker over the weekend called on the Philippines to report China's continuous violations against the Hague ruling on the West Philippine Sea, seven years after the decision was made.

According to Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, the country should hand over documentation of the current situation in the area, as China refuses to acknowledge the United Nations' decision.

“We shouldn’t stop at just the Arbitral Ruling but we should follow up with the Hague on what is actually going on the ground by China,” Zubiri said in a statement.

“We should present to the UN the repeated incursions and violations of China against the Hague Arbitral ruling on the West Philippine Sea,” he added.

This comes a decade after the Philippines, led by the late President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, challenged China in 2013 over its claims on the West Philippine Sea.

The Philippines won in 2016 as it secured a landmark ruling by an international tribunal invalidating Beijing’s massive South China Sea claims.

China has refused to acknowledge the ruling, with over 50 of its vessels spotted in the vicinity of the Iroquois Reef and Sabina Shoal, as reported by the Western Command earlier this month.

“We should show the video and photographic evidence of their creeping invasion towards our country and our neighbors with their continuous reclamation of territory within our Exclusive Economic Zone and areas that are considered International waters that hamper the freedom of navigation,” Zubiri said.

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. last November said he told Chinese officials to uphold international law and follow the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea regarding areas of the South China Sea. — DVM, GMA Integrated News