Philippines-China talks should aim for easy fruit for now

MORE than a month after the arbitral tribunal set up under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea decided in favour of the Philippines in its arbitration case against China on disputes in the South China Sea, both countries are looking for a way to end their impasse.

China has rejected the ruling as invalid but it faces international opprobrium as an outlier who doesn't live by global norms. An accord with Manila on issues that don't touch Chinese core interests, such as fisheries, is seen as one way of salvaging its image.

The Philippines, while revelling in its legal triumph, realises that there is no way to enforce the ruling of the tribunal in The Hague.