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| Philippines 'to take South China Sea row to court' | Philippines 'to take South China Sea row to court' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The Philippines says it will challenge Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea in a UN court. | |
| Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said the decision came after Manila had exhausted "almost all political and diplomatic avenues" to resolve the maritime dispute with Beijing. | Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said the decision came after Manila had exhausted "almost all political and diplomatic avenues" to resolve the maritime dispute with Beijing. |
| He said he hoped arbitration would help bring a "durable solution" to the row. | He said he hoped arbitration would help bring a "durable solution" to the row. |
| Tensions between the two have been high since a stand-off at the Scarborough Shoal - which both claim - last year. | Tensions between the two have been high since a stand-off at the Scarborough Shoal - which both claim - last year. |
| China claims a U-shaped swathe of the South China Sea; its claims overlap those of several South East Asian nations. | |
| In recent months Beijing has taken a more assertive posture on the issue, leaving ties with both the Philippines and Vietnam severely strained. | |
| 'Nine-dash line' | |
| In a statement, Mr del Rosario said his office had summoned the Chinese ambassador in Manila to inform her of the move. | |
| He said Manila would take Beijing to an arbitration tribunal under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which both had signed. | |
| He said in its submission, the Philippines had asserted that China's "nine-dash line" setting out its claims in the region was unlawful under UNCLOS. | |
| China had "interfered with the lawful exercise by the Philippines of its rights within its legitimate maritime zones", it went on. | |
| It said the Philippines wants the tribunal to declare China's nine-dash line invalid. | |
| "We strongly believe that this action is the appropriate response to put our diplomatic relations in its proper context," Mr del Rosario said. |