The Philippines has presented its side on China's disputed South China Sea land reclamation project before an international arbitration court in Holland on Tuesday. However, the other party in the dispute, China, has declined to join the proceedings.

A spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry Hua Chunying said China has already made its position known that it will neither join nor recognize the proceedings of court. Hua said the Philippine's insistence on putting the matter before an arbitration body violates an earlier agreement regarding the way both countries should settle their South China Sea territory disagreements.

Like Us on Facebook

The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration will conduct its hearing this week and will let each side to present their case, according to Channel News Asia. However, unless China changes its mind, only the Philippine's case will be presented before the five members of the arbitration panel. After the presentation of the claims and arguments, the decision of the court will be announced.

The Philippine government brought this case before the international arbitration body after Chinese naval forces occupied the Scarborough Shoal in the early part of 2013. After the case was filed, relations between the countries have grown cold, according to Yahoo News. Philippine officials claimed that Chinese civilian and military ships are intruding and occupying small islands that are located well within the country's 200 mile economic zone.

The Philippine justified bringing the dispute for arbitration since both countries are signatories of the arbitration court. But China authorities have said that the territory disagreement cannot be resolved by arbitration since the issue is about sovereignty.

While China maintains its ownership of virtually the entire South China Sea, its other neighbors in the region also lay overlapping ownership over parts of the disputed area.

Aside from China and the Philippines, other countries that claim ownership in the disputed seas are Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and even Taiwan. The other claimant countries ave been angered by China's land building operations in several islets located in the hotly contested Spratlys Group of Islands.

China has, however, defended the project, claiming that the Spratlys has always been a part of China. Chinese authorities say that the enlarged reefs will be used for civilian and eventually for military purposes.

Tagschina philippines dispute, Permanent Court of Arbitration