MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines says it wants an international tribunal to issue a decision as quickly as it can on a Manila complaint that questions the legality of China's massive territorial claims in the South China Sea because of escalating tension in the dispute.
Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said late Tuesday that the Philippines would ask its lawyers to petition the Arbitral Tribunal in the Hague, the Netherlands, to issue an earlier ruling after China declared it would not get involved in the case, which should shorten the arbitration proceedings.
Del Rosario said he hopes for a decision as early as next year because "the situation is getting worse every day in the South China Sea." The Philippines has recently protested against Chinese land reclamations in at least two disputed reefs.
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