Lorenzana ‘sorry’ over ‘empty victory’ on sea row but calls it ‘premature, incomplete’
AFTER calling an international arbitral ruling favoring the Philippines over China in the disputed territories an “empty victory,” Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana had a change of heart and apologized to two members of the delegation that presented the country’s position at The Hague in The Netherlands in 2016.
Lorenzana addressed his “sincere apology” to former Foreign Affairs secretary Albert del Rosario and Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio “for ruffling their feelings when I said the PCA ruling in our favor is an empty victory.”
The PCA is the Permanent Court of Arbitration.
“Both have reasons to be miffed for they worked hard to win our case before the PCA. It was not my intention to denigrate their achievement,” Lorenzana said.
However, Lorenzana insisted that the victory was “premature and incomplete,” citing “realities on the ground” with China not having left the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), among them.
“How can victory be claimed over an arbitration case that proceeded even if the other party declined to participate, having stated from the beginning that it will not abide by the arbitration’s outcome?” he asked.
During court proceedings at The Hague, China sent word, through its officials in The Netherlands, that it would not join the hearings although it forwarded position papers, which the PCA recognized as the communist country’s response to the Philippines’ arguments. DEMPSEY REYES
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