MANILA – President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has raised the South China Sea dispute during his intervention at the 45th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Vientiane, Laos.
According to a statement from the Presidential Communications Office (PCO), President Marcos emphasized the Philippines’ fidelity to rule of law and international rules-based order.
The Chief Executive also said that the Philippines is following the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 Arbitral Award in its efforts to address and manage disputes and tensions with China.
“I didn’t specify the details but it is just the general principle of the adherence to the rule of law and the UNCLOS. Just as a general theme,” Marcos said. “We will have a chance to get into more detail maybe in the next couple of days.”
The SCS is a conduit for more than $3 trillion in annual ship commerce. Aside from the Philippines, China has overlapping claims in the area with Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei.
China and the Philippines are among the claimants of features in the vast and resource-rich SCS which Beijing claims entirely including features that are well within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled to dismiss China’s sweeping historical claims to the waterway, but Beijing has refused to acknowledge the ruling and continue its militarization and aggression in the disputed waters.
President Marcos is currently in Vientiane for the three-day ASEAN Summit./PN
