South China Sea next steps — de-escalating tensions and resolving disputes
A Tribunal of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague has issued a unanimous ruling in the arbitration instituted by the Philippines in relation to the South China Sea.
Deputy Opposition leader and shadow foreign minister Tanya Plibersek said Labor welcomes the decision.
“Focus now should be on de-escalating tensions and resolving disputes.”
“It brings greater certainty and clarity to the application of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea in the context of the South China Sea,” she said.
“It is important all nations respect and abide by the ruling; the Tribunal’s findings are binding and final.”
Shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus QC called for peaceful resolution of the claims.
“We urge all South China Sea claimants to resolve competing claims peacefully and in accordance with international law,” Dreyfus said. “The focus now should be on de-escalating tensions and resolving disputes.
“No country should engage in unilateral action which seeks to change the status quo,” he said.
“A direct interest in freedom of navigation and overflight.”
Labor continues to support an international rules based system, including in the South China Sea.
Plibersek said that as a maritime trading nation, Australia has a direct interest in freedom of navigation and overflight.
“And the maintenance of the international arrangements that protect those rights,” the deputy leader said.
“Over US$5t in annual global trade and about 60 per cent of Australia’s exports pass through the South China Sea.”
This article originally appeared in the Labor Herald.
