MANILA, Nov 8 (Reuters) - The Philippines' foreign minister
ordered the country's mission to the United Nations on Sunday to
vote for China's candidate to fill one of the five seats at the
International Court of Justice (ICJ) that will become vacant
next year.
"You are instructed to cast the Philippine vote for the
Chinese candidate to the international court of justice. That is
your only clear instruction," Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro
Locsin said on Twitter without elaborating.
Four of the eight candidates contesting the five positions
are incumbent judges whose nine-year terms are due to expire on
Feb. 5 next year. One of the four is Chinese Judge Xue Hanqin,
who is also the vice president of the ICJ, also known as the
World Court.
The ICJ, the highest United Nations court for inter-state
disputes, is composed of 15 judges elected to nine-year terms of
office by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security
Council. Judges are eligible for re-election.
A United Nations document dated June 29, 2020 showed the
Philippines nominated another candidate Japanese Judge Yuji
Iwasawa but not Xue.
The foreign ministry said the Philippines can support more
than one candidate at the Nov. 11 election as there will be five
vacancies.
Since coming to power in 2016, President Rodrigo Duterte has
pursued better relations with Beijing, though the Philippines,
particularly its military, has harboured a deep mistrust of
China over what it sees as intrusions into its territory,
bullying of its fishermen and denial of access to its energy
resources. China says the disputed waters in the South China Sea
belong to China, and its actions there are lawful.