Former Philippine officials sue Chinese officials before ICC over

March 21, 2019

Former Philippine officials have sued Chinese officials for allegedly committing crimes against humanity in connection with China's activities to gain control over most of the South China Sea.

Ex-Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario and former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales filed the case before the International Criminal Court (ICC) on March 15, two days before the Philippines' exit from the tribunal.

Under its rules, the court can act on cases related to the Philippines while the Philippines was a member from November 1, 2011 until March 17.

“The situation is both unique and relevant because it presents one of the most massive, near permanent and devastating destruction of the environment in humanity’s history,” read a statement del Rosario sent to the media.

“It adversely affects and injures not only myriad groups of vulnerable fishermen, including 320,000 Filipino fishermen, but also present and future generations of people across nations,” it added.

“These atrociously inhumane actions of Chinese officials in the South China Sea and within Philippine territory remain unpunished, and it is only the ICC that can exact accountability on behalf of Filipinos and the international community, respecting the rule of law,” Del Rosario’s statement said.

China’s moves to restrict access to areas in the resource-rich waters, the statement said, has “seriously undermined the food and energy security of the coastal states in the South China Sea, including the Philippines.”

The “grave consequences of such actions, it said, justify the ICC’s involvement “as it affirms one of the principles of the Rome Statute that “the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole must not go unpunished and their effective prosecution must be ensured....”

An international arbitral tribunal ruled in the Philippines' favor in July 2016 and invalidated China’s claim. Beijing has ignored. DMS