Notes Verbale of Philippines on Joint Submission of Malaysia and Vietnam and on Submission of Vietnam
On 4 August 2009 the Philippines submitted separate Notes Verbale to the UN Secretary-General in response to the Joint Submission of Malaysia and Vietnam[92]and on the Submission of Vietnam[93]. The Note to the Joint Submission states that the extended continental shelf claim by Malaysia and Vietnam lays claim on areas that are disputed because they overlap with that of the Philippines and “because of the controversy arising from the territorial claims on some of the islands in the area including North Borneo.” The latter objection is a reference to the historical claim of the Philippines to what is now the East Malaysian State of Sabah, which was formerly known as North Borneo.
The note of the Philippines further pointed out that given the existence of maritime disputes, the Philippines requests that under paragraph 1(5) of Annex I of the rules of procedure of the Commission,
“in cases where a land or maritime dispute exists, the Commission shall not consider and qualify a submission may by any of the States concerned in the dispute.” The note then requested the Commission to refrain from considering the Joint Submission unless and until after the parties have discussed and resolved their disputes.
CLCS submissions and claims in the South China Sea, by Robert C. Beckman & Tara Davenport