Interview: Brazilian expert says Manila's claim groundless, questions legitimacy of arbitration tribunal

A Brazilian expert has said that the Philippines' claim in the South China Sea is groundless while questioning the legitimacy of a tribunal that admitted Manila's arbitration request.

Ronnie Lins, director of the Center of China-Brazil Research and Business, told Xinhua in a recent interview that historical records showed that China has owned this territory since around 2,000 years ago.

"From the late 19th century, a series of treaties established the western border of the Philippines," said Lins, a specialist in Chinese history and culture.

While the Nansha Islands were not included nor recorded in any of those treaties, the Philippines, however, began to claim part of the South China Sea in 1946, Lins said.

China and the Philippines issued a statement in 2011 pledging to resolve disputes in the South China Sea through negotiations and consultations.

However, in 2013, without informing China in advance, Manila initiated arbitration at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague regarding the South China Sea issue.

By doing so, the Philippines has violated its agreement with China as well as its own solemn commitment to the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC).

"I do not know if a tribunal would have any legitimacy to discuss such a matter. We are talking about national sovereignty," Lins said, adding that the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea explains that its court has no right to resolve such disputes.

The expert added that while China's position on the matter is not to recognize the arbitration results, this does not mean the country is flouting international law as it has shown its desire to sit down for dialogue.

While certain analysts may have expressed support for a ruling by the arbitration tribunal, Lins said: "We will have to see if any claims made are backed by proof and historical facts."

Lins said he believes that submitting the matter to an arbitration tribunal would only raise tensions between China and the Philippines while undermining regional stability.

"It seems very complicated to me to discuss issues of national sovereignty at an arbitration tribunal. Generally, these questions are resolved through dialogue," he said.

China on Wednesday again urged the Philippines to stop its arbitral proceedings and return to the right track of settling relevant disputes in the South China Sea through bilateral negotiation with China.

"China urges the Philippines to immediately cease its wrongful conduct of pushing forward the arbitral proceedings, and return to the right path of settling the relevant disputes in the South China Sea through bilateral negotiation with China," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said.

The door of China-Philippines bilateral negotiations is always open, he said. "China will remain committed to settling through negotiation the relevant disputes with the Philippines in the South China Sea on the basis of respecting historical facts and in accordance with international law." Endi