ON the occasion of the 6th anniversary of the decision of the arbitral court in The Hague, Netherlands about the Philippine claim over water and land areas in the South China Sea on July 12, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) issued a reassuring statement of policy that may well define the position of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos on the issue.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said the Philippines is rejecting any attempts to weaken the ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration which invalidated China’s nine-dash line claim over the South China Sea.
It has been six years since the release of the historic decision of the arbitration court that favored the Philippines’ case against China’s overlapping claims in the South China Sea where the world’s strategic and most important navigation lanes are found.
‘Such an unequivocal stance from the Foreign Affairs Secretary is what the Filipino people want to hear, and we hope President Marcos Jr. will buttress this position with equally strong words and more
importantly, decisive action.’
The nation’s top diplomat also noted that the arbitral award upheld the nation’s sovereign rights and jurisdiction in its exclusive economic zone. Manalo said:
“It affirmed that certain actions within the Philippines’ EEZ (exclusive economic zone) violated the Philippines’ sovereign rights and were thus unlawful; that large-scale reclamation and construction of artificial islands caused severe environmental harm in violation of international conventions; that the large-scale harvesting of endangered marine species damaged the marine ecosystem; and that actions taken since the commencement of the arbitration had aggravated the disputes.”
It is always reassuring to hear the head of the DFA verbalize what most Filipinos believe as true. He continued: “These findings are no longer within the reach of denial and rebuttal and are conclusive as they are indisputable. The Award is final. We firmly reject attempts to undermine it; nay, even erase it from the law, history, and our collective memories. At the same time, we welcome the support of a growing list of countries for the Award,” he added.
From hereon then, with the flip-flopping President Duterte out of the picture, the Philippines will consider the PCA ruling and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as the anchors of the country’s policy and actions on the West Philippine Sea.
Such an unequivocal stance from the Foreign Affairs Secretary is what the Filipino people want to hear, and we hope President Marcos Jr. will buttress this position with equally strong words and more importantly, decisive action.
