Philippine Ambassador Rosario G.Manalo in a video playback of a press conference held in Aristocrat in July 2019 (Photo screen grabbed from YouTube)
QUEZON CITY, May 10 (PIA) Philippine Ambassador Rosario G. Manalo, one of the country’s most accomplished diplomats, explained that the Philippines and China both opted out of the compulsory arbitration clause when they ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 1984 and 1996 respectively.
The UNCLOS is an international treaty that provides the comprehensive legal framework governing all activities and uses of the world’s seas and oceans. It is the basis for determining maritime entitlements, sovereign rights, jurisdiction, and legitimate interests over maritime zones.