MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte rejected attempts to undermine the Philippines’ 2016 arbitral victory on the West Philippine Sea.
In a pre-recorded speech at the High-Level General Debate of the 75th United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, Duterte said his administration is keeping its commitment to international agreements regarding the contested waters.
“The Philippines affirms that commitment in the South China Sea in accordance with UNCLOS (UN Convention on the Law of the Seas) and the 2016 Arbitral Award,” Duterte said.
“The award is now part of international law, beyond compromise and beyond the reach of passing governments to dilute, diminish or abandon. We firmly reject attempts to undermine it,” he added.
In a decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016, it ruled the Philippines had exclusive sovereign rights of the area and invalidated China’s “nine-dash line” over it. The latter, however, repeatedly rejected the arbitral win.
“We welcome the increasing number of states that have come in support of the award and what it stands for – the triumph of reason over rashness, of law over disorder, of amity over ambition. This – as it should – is the majesty of the law,” Duterte said.
Since assuming presidency in 2016, Duterte has pursued warmer ties with China and refrained from asserting rights to the territory amid its moves to build several structures in artificial islands there./PN
