Published July 12, 2016 9:27pm
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/573413/news/nation/joma-sison-china-stands-to-lose-face-if-it-won-t-follow-tribunal-s-ruling
The avowed leader of the leftist movement in the Philippines said China stands to lose face in the international community if it would continue to shun the ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.
With a 15-point petition from the Philippines, the tribunal on Tuesday ruled to invalidate China’s nine-dash line theory and its claims over most of the South China Sea.
Chinese authorities have indicated that China would not abide by the ruling.
“China will certainly face reputational damage by continuing to violate international law. It cannot boast of its supposed economic and military power to ignore or violently oppose the judgment of the Tribunal,” said Jose Maria Sison, the chief political consultant of the National Democratic Front.
According to Sison, “this is a time of serious economic and social troubles for China domestically because of its own crisis of overproduction and extreme abuse of credit and public debt and because of the ever worsening crisis of the global capitalist system.”
“All countries, especially China, should respect the final and binding decision of the Tribunal. The arrogant claims of China over almost the entire South China Sea have no leg to stand on,” Sison said.
Sison said China should accept the ruling in the face of the international community, especially the signatories of the UNCLOS, the majority members of the UN General Assembly, the ASEAN and other neighboring countries.
“It is best for China to come to terms with the Philippines and other ASEAN countries, respond positively to the call of President [Rodrigo] Duterte for appropriate bilateral negotiations and counter the scheme of the US to pretend being the protector of the Philippines and yet dominating, occupying Philippine territory with the use of military bases, oppressing and exploiting the entire Filipino people,” Sison said. —NB, GMA News
