By Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio, Reporter

MANILA should consider building a separate sovereign rights case against Beijing from its planned environmental suit amid China’s continued harassment of Philippine vessels within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), a security analyst said at the weekend.

Bundling sovereign rights violation and coral reef damage into a single lawsuit could weaken arguments on the alleged breaches, said Rocio Salle Gatdula, a defense economist currently taking up security studies at Georgetown University.

“Aside from environmental degradation, the Philippines could pursue violations of sovereign rights, especially with China’s obstruction of Philippine resupply missions to Second Thomas Shoal last year and harassment of fishing vessels within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone,” she said in a Facebook Messenger chat.

The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately reply to a Viber message seeking comment.

The Philippines is weighing legal action against China over alleged environmental damage to maritime features within its EEZ, as Beijing maintains its presence despite a 2016 ruling by a United Nations-backed court rejecting its expansive claims.

China lays sovereignty to nearly the entire South China Sea based on a 1940s nine-dash line map that overlaps with the Philippines’ EEZ, deploying coast guard, maritime militia, and fishing fleets in disputed waters where confrontations between Chinese and Philippine vessels have repeatedly occurred.

“Filing a new arbitration case could yield benefits for the Philippines, reinforcing the 2016 tribunal ruling and strengthening Manila’s position under international law,” said Ms. Rocio. “This could then perhaps encourage a coalition of Southeast Asian countries or United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea signatories to join the case.”

The Philippine government could file its cases at the Permanent Court of Arbitration or the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, possibly alongside other regional neighbors, she added.

China’s South China Sea claims have also put it at odds with other Southeast Asian claimant states, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam, as disputes over the strategic waterway continue to fuel regional tensions.

Manila should clearly define its objectives in pursuing another arbitration case against China to bolster international pressure on Beijing over its maritime claims, Raymond M. Powell, a fellow at the Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, said in a Facebook message.

“Manila’s case is already extremely strong, in that Beijing has openly refused to acknowledge or abide by any of the rulings of the previous arbitral case,” he said.

The Philippines should continue enforcing its claim in the South China Sea based on the 2016 arbitral ruling due to China’s “disruptive and illegal actions” within the country’s EEZ, Chester B. Cabalza, founding president of Manila-based think tank International Development and Security Cooperation, said via Facebook chat.

Meanwhile, the Philippine government should reinforce its defense alliances with other nations and shield its economy from Beijing’s economic pressures, Julio S. Amador III, chief executive officer at Manila-based geopolitical risk firm Amador Research Services, said in a Viber message.

“There should be expected retaliation from China through potential escalation of harassment or economic sanctions,” said Ms. Gatdula.

The Philippines is seeking to deepen security ties with its allies amid tensions with China over the contested waterbody. Already bound by military agreements with the US, Japan, and Australia, Manila is also closing in on a visiting forces agreement with France and Canada.

The Southeast Asian nation also recently signed a defense cooperation agreement with Germany and a visiting forces agreement with New Zealand.