The Philippines could strengthen its territorial claim against China in the West Philippines Sea (WPS) if it becomes a state party to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), Senator Francis Tolentino said on Friday.
During the hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the TPNW, Tolentino asked the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to come up with a mode to diplomatically assert the Philippines’ position in the WPS once the Senate concurs on the ratification of the said treaty and the country becomes a State Party.
He noted that under the treaty, a State Party is obligated to, among others, submit a declaration to the Secretary General of the United Nations (UN) if there are any nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices in its territory or in any place under its jurisdiction or control that are owned, possessed, or controlled by another State.
Such a declaration must be submitted not later than 30 days after the treaty enters into force.
"If we approve this treaty, ratified, we can send a note to the United Nations informing the UN Secretary-General that we have reasonable grounds to believe that there might be some nuclear armaments there present in the man-made islands made by China," Tolentino said.
"It would strengthen the position of the Philippines because we will now have an oversight on the part of the UN to really look into,whether they can do that or not, perhaps some notes to be filed with the UN General Assembly, the possibility of the presence of nuclear weapons in an area which is supposedly under our control and our jurisdiction and I’m referring to the West Philippine Sea," he said.
He told the DFA: "I am now asking you to be creative enough to realize that because of that arbitral ruling, we still have jurisdiction over areas in the West Philippine Sea being claimed by China."
He said the Philippines has much to gain from becoming a State Party to ensure a peaceful and nuclear-free region of amity and cooperation.
The UN Permanent Court of Arbitration on July 12, 2016 ruled in favor of the Philippines and scrapped China's "nine-dash line" claim over the South China Sea, which included parts of the WPS.
China, however, has since refused to recognize the ruling and consistently pursued activities to take control of the South China Sea and its resources.
The TNPW, already signed by 51 member-states, prohibits the use, threat of use, development, production, manufacture, acquisition, possession, stockpiling, transfer, and installation of nuclear weapons.
Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Igor Bailen said that while the treaty does not fully eliminate the threat of nuclear weapons, it "increases the stigma against nuclear weapons and puts international pressure on the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and other nuclear weapon states to relinquish those weapons eventually."
The foreign relations panel has endorsed the TPNW for the concurrence of the Senate.