By Joyce Ann Rocamora
MANILA – The Philippine government called on China to comply with the 2016 Arbitral Ruling on the South China Sea before the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
The call was made on Sept. 28 (New York time) as the country exercised its right of reply to Beijing’s statement in the same meeting, which accused Manila of playing up the South China Sea issue in the multilateral fora while repeatedly rejecting recognition of the award.
Paolo Marco Mapula of the Philippine Permanent Mission to the UN, in delivering the reply, stressed that the award is “final and binding” upon parties.
“The Philippines reiterates that the award did not create rights for the Philippines beyond those provided by UNCLOS (UN Convention on the Law of the Sea). It authoritatively applied the convention to the dispute submitted to the tribunal,” he said.
“To respect the award is therefore to respect UNCLOS and the integrity of the legal order established by the convention.”
Mapula said the Philippines will continue to exercise its rights and discharge its obligations in accordance with international law.
“We call on China to do the same and to comply with UNCLOS and the final and binding 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award,” he said.
“This landmark decision continues to stand as the defining affirmation of the Philippines’ commitment to international law and the bedrock of a stable, rules-based maritime order,” he added.
The award was rendered by an arbitral tribunal constituted under Annex VII of UNCLOS in 2016, ruling that there is no legal basis for China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea, including those based on its so-called historic rights.
