Analyst Says the Philippines Is Preparing Documents for a Possible Second South China Sea Legal Case Against China; Filing Decision Rests With Marcos
SANYA — The Philippines is considering another legal case against China and authorities are already preparing the necessary documents, Rommel Banlaoi, president of the Philippine Institute for Strategic and International Studies, said at a South China Sea seminar in Sanya, Hainan, on November 7, according to the South China Morning Post.
Banlaoi said a possible new case would focus on marine environmental damage and economic losses in the South China Sea and on alleged violations of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and could seek compensation. He added that whether to file would ultimately be decided by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and that the matter remained at the stage of policy consideration and legal preparation, not a filed suit.
The year 2026 marks the tenth anniversary of the 2016 South China Sea arbitral award. Reuters reported early last year that then Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla said the government was studying a second international legal case against China and weighing the forum. In September, retired Supreme Court justice Francis Jardeleza, who served as solicitor general when the first case was filed, publicly urged a second case, noting among other things that the 2016 tribunal had not ruled on whether the Philippines could claim damages from China under the convention.
China has repeatedly said it does not accept or recognize the 2016 award. This report covers only the disclosure about Philippine preparations; the Philippine government has not announced a filing.
(Source: South China Morning Post)
Source: South China Morning Post
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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