Philippines’ victory in South China Sea ‘final,' says DFA’s Manalo

Six years after an international tribunal junked China's nine-dash claim over the South China Sea in favor of the Philippines, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo on Tuesday maintained that the ruling is final and could no longer be denied by anyone.

In a statement, Manalo recalled the South China Sea Arbitration, which marked the Philippines’ victory against China in a landmark ruling by the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration on the West Philippine Sea.

Manalo stressed that the Award upheld the Philippines’ sovereign rights and jurisdiction in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and affirmed that certain actions within the country’s EEZ were unlawful.

“The Award, an affirmation of UNCLOS’ dispute resolution mechanisms, not only sets reason and right in the South China Sea, but is an inspiration for how matters should be considered — through reason and right — by states facing similarly challenging circumstances,” he said.

“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 law, history and our collective memories,” Manalo added, adding that the ruling and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) are “the twin anchors of the Philippines’ policy and actions on the West Philippine Sea.”

Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra backed the DFA's position. 

"The Office of the Solicitor General strongly supports the position of the Department of Foreign Affairs that the UNCLOS and the 2016 arbitral award of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in favor of the Philippines shall be the anchor of all Philippine policies and actions in relation to all maritime rights issues in the West Philippine Sea," he said in a message to reporters on Friday. 

Manalo's statement on the ruling underscores the Marcos administration’s commitment to uphold the decision and protect the country’s territories in the South China Sea, which is being claimed by China nearly in its entirety. Manila renamed areas that fall within its EEZ and jurisdiction as West Philippine Sea.

The 501-page ruling was handed down in The Hague, Netherlands, more than three years after the case was filed by the Philippines under the Aquino administration in January 2013.

The arbitration decision declared China's historic claim over nearly the entire waters as illegal under the 1982 UNCLOS, considered as the constitution of the seas. China and the Philippines are among the 163 signatory states to the treaty. Beijing's so-called nine-dash line is a U-shaped map that covers nearly 90% of the South China Sea.

China however rejected the Philippines' call to comply with the 2016 arbitration ruling, calling the decision "illegal and invalid.”

The ruling also defined for the first time which South China Sea features were considered islands, rocks and low-tide elevations under UNCLOS, a crucial declaration since the assessment will define what extent of territorial waters can be projected by a particular type of maritime feature.

The arbitral tribunal also ruled that China’s 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.”

Manalo said the ruling benefits the world across the board and is not directed at any other country.

“We see it as it should be seen: as favoring all which are similarly situated by clarifying definitively a legal situation beyond the reach of arms to change. It puts this aspect of international law beyond the limit of prescription,” Manalo said.

Although any ruling by the arbitral tribunal is legally binding, the Netherlands-based Permanent Court of Arbitration has no enforcement power.

The decision remains in a legal limbo six years after the arbitration ruling was handed down because neither the Philippines nor China has taken steps, required under the UNCLOS, to immediately implement the ruling.

In May, former Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana admitted that several Chinese and Vietnamese fisherfolk and coast guards are still going around the West Philippine Sea, but could not be driven out by the Philippine government out of fear of war.

In his attempt to allay concerns on the issue, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. earlier said his administration would defend the country's sovereignty by talking to China "with a firm voice."

He said that he would not "allow a single millimeter of our maritime coastal rights to be trampled upon.”

Former Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, who led efforts to bring the country's disputes with China to international arbitration, called on Marcos to “do what is right, protect our patrimony and help the Filipino people.”

“The six years that passed, however, have been less than ideal for our country because the Duterte administration tragically pursued a policy of appeasing China, in exchange for economic benefits that never materialized,” Del Rosario said.

“With a new administration, we are again met with renewed hope," he added.

Meanwhile, the US on Tuesday reaffirmed its commitment to defend the Philippines against any armed attack in the South China Sea and rejected anew China's massive claim on the resource-rich waters.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on China to stop aggressive and provocative acts in the South China Sea, warning that any attack on the the Philippines will trigger a response from the US.

The Philippines and the US have a 71-year-old defense accord, called the Mutual Defense Treaty, that binds America to defend its Asian ally from aggression. —with Joahna Lei Casilao/KG/VBL, GMA News