ABSTRACT
The Philippines' purpose in initiating the proceedings is to seek a resolution to its disputes with China over maritime claims and entitlements in the South China Sea (SCS). The Philippines states that within the maritime area encompassed by the nine-dash line, China has also laid claim to, occupied and built structures on certain submerged banks, reefs and LTEs that do not qualify as islands under United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), but are parts of the Philippine continental shelf, or the international seabed. On 3 April 2014, the Chinese Embassy in Manila issued a lengthy document that reiterated the three reasons for China's non-acceptance of and non-participation in the Philippines-initiated arbitration and elaborated on China's basic position on the SCS issue. Moreover, he addressed in detail the nature of China-Philippines disputes in the SCS and the consensus reached between the two countries on the approach to deal with the SCS issue.
