Scarborough Shoal Standoff

Under the principle of pacta sunt servanda, contracting states must fulfill their duties and obligations under the treaty they have entered into. . Every provision of the contract or treaty is the law between the parties.As signatories to such, they must adhere to every part of it in good faith.


Recently there is a standoff at the Scarborough Shoal. The Philippines and China are asserting their respective claims over such territory. It must be stressed to both states, especially to China, that they are signatories to the  UN Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) or the Law of the Sea treaty. This treaty states that within the 200-nautical mile area from the edge of a state's territorial sea, such state has the sole right to exploit the resources found therein.


The Scarborough Shoal is located within that 200-nautical mile area. Therefore, China does not have the right to exploit the natural resources therein specifically do fishing within the area. Its assertion of right based on historical claim and the "nine-dash line" is untenable. The law that should prevail is the UNCLOS. China should be reminded that what it signed is the law between all the parties into the pact. Any right, duty, or dispute is governed by such treaty.

- RWN -