DHAKA: The Philippines expects an early ruling from the United Nations’ tribunal on its arbitration case questioning China’s claim on the South China Sea.

Philippines foreign minister said on Thursday, in the first public announcement of hopes for a swift outcome, reports The Straits Times.

Friction over the key shipping route has surged as China uses its growing naval might to assert a vast claim over the oil-and-gas rich area more strongly, raising fears of a conflict with other nations bordering the water body.

China, Taiwan and Vietnam have claims on the whole of the South China Sea, while Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines claim only parts of the disputed waters.

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said the Philippines initiated arbitration proceedings this year after exhausting all political and diplomatic avenues of resolution, and called China`s claim on the South China Sea ‘expansive and excessive’.

BDST: 1744HRS, OCT 24, 2013
RoR/RIS