WHEREAS the Republic of the Philippines and the People’s Republic of China are parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (the “Convention”).

WHEREAS Article 286 of the Convention provides that “[s]ubject to section 3, any dispute concerning the interpretation or application of this Convention shall, where no settlement has been reached by recourse to section 1, be submitted at the request of any Party to the dispute to the court or tribunal having jurisdiction under this section”;

WHEREAS Article 287(5) of the Convention provides that “[i]f the Parties to a dispute have not accepted the same procedure for the settlement of the dispute, it may be submitted only to arbitration in accordance with Annex VII, unless the Parties otherwise agree”;

WHEREAS Article 1 of Annex VII to the Convention provides that “[s]ubject to the provisions of Part XV, any Party to a dispute may submit the dispute to the arbitral procedure provided for in this Annex by written notification addressed to the other Party or Parties to the dispute. The notification shall be accompanied by a statement of the claim and the grounds on which it is based”;

WHEREAS the Philippines has invoked Article 287 and Annex VII to the Convention “with respect to the dispute with China over the maritime jurisdiction of the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea,” as set out in the Philippines’ Notification and Statement of Claim dated 22 January 2013;