At least 44 nations back Arbitral Award

MANILA, Philippines — At least 44 countries have openly supported the 2016 Arbitral Award that invalidated China’s expansive maritime claims over almost the whole South China Sea, 10 years after it was handed down by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.

Department of National Defense (DND) spokesman Arsenio Andolong said over the years, more and more members of the international community are joining the Philippines in asserting its rights and upholding the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), along with other domestic and international laws that govern the oceans.

He noted that “the international community stands firmly with us” as there are now “27 nations demanding respect for the Arbitral Ruling and another 17 explicitly backing it.”

In a statement yesterday, Andolong said the DND “stands in absolute solidarity with the Filipino people in reaffirming the 2016 Arbitral Award as the living, unyielding anchor of our national sovereignty and maritime policy.”

“A decade since this landmark ruling, the award stands not merely as a historical milestone, but it is our primary legal mandate that provides absolute clarity under international law, specifically the UNCLOS, establishing that our maritime rights are indisputable and legally locked,” he declared.

Andolong said the DND is committed to translating legal text into operational reality and as such, the DND and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) “will unceasingly deploy assets to secure our archipelagic nation and continue to uphold the international rules-based order and international law by documenting and exposing illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceitful activities in our waters and EEZ (exclusive economic zone). We will demonstrate to the world that our actions are rooted in evidence, truth and international law – not propaganda.”