The award of The Hague-based arbitral tribunal over the South China Sea case has shown itself to be a strongly biased body, said an Albanian expert and former official. Dorian Ducka, an energy strategist and former deputy minister of Energy and Industry of Albania.
The South China Sea case was motivated politically for populist purposes by the former Philippine government, Ducka said in a written interview with Xinhua on Wednesday.
Former Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III initiated this political farce in the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which has undermined global trust in international law and breached the good faith of diplomacy and negotiations, Ducka said.
"This tribunal, under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), cannot rule on issues concerning territorial sovereignty. The only solution to these complicated matters is through dialogue, diplomacy and consultation through bilateral, open and transparent talks between the directly concerned parties," the expert said.
"The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, under good faith and trust, signed the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea; that has to be the framework for discussing and negotiating matters of concern for the South China Sea, as all other means of solving them would be detrimental to the stability of the region," he said.
"The South China Sea ... could be the oasis of energy diplomacy, economic cooperation and raised common prosperity for the countries and parties surrounding this area, but this potential could be realized only via sticking to the rules of trust, diplomacy and negotiations," said Ducka.
He noted that the South China Sea could be a win-win platform if the countries concerned, in this case the Philippines, use sound reason and engage constructively in dialogue and consultations with China.
China's door is always and will forever be open for direct discussion, dialogue and consultation over the South China Sea issue, with the concerned parties, and by this China shows to the world that it does not try to solve the disputes unilaterally, but it is interested in a stable region that produces prosperity and peace for all neighboring countries, said Ducka.
China shall and will not be intimidated by any decision or ruling of any court that does not have jurisdiction over its sovereign rights, and especially in this matter, Ducka said.
