South China Sea: Philippines marks anniversary of Hague ruling over contested waters

Tensions surround the highly contested South China Sea as the surrounding countries and China are at odds with each other over sovereignty claims on the body of water. The Philippines this week marked the anniversary of the Hague ruling against China over the disputed waters by reaffirming its stance against Beijing.

The Philippines Tuesday reaffirmed the Hague ruling of 2016 that China’s claims of sovereignty over most of the South China Sea have no basis in international law. Philippine foreign minister Enrique Manalo reiterated that the ruling was final, and China’s claims have no basis.

“These findings are no longer within the reach of denial and rebuttal, and are conclusive as they are indisputable,” said Manalo in a statement. “We firmly reject attempts to undermine it…even erase it from law, history, and our collective memories.”

Manila filed a case in 2013 with the Permanent Court of Arbitration that sought to clarify sovereign entitlements under international law. The panel ruled in the Philippines’ favor that China has no legal basis for its claims of control over the waters. Beijing has ignored the ruling and has continued to assert its claims to this day.

Back in June, a poll by the Stratbase Institute showed that around 90 percent of Filipinos want the government to assert maritime claims over its part of the waters and increase defense capabilities.

However, the Philippines has also been unable to enforce the ruling and has filed numerous diplomatic protests over its allegations that China’s coast guard and its fishing vessels encroached upon its maritime territory and harassed fishermen.

Also marking the anniversary, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that the arbitration was final and China must comply with “its obligations under international law and cease its provocative behavior.”

“We reaffirm that an armed attack on Philippine armed forces …would invoke US mutual defense commitments,” said Blinken, referring to the mutual defense treaty between the two longtime allies since 1951.

Blinken’s statement follows the apparent swipe taken by his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi during a meeting with the ASEAN group of countries. Wang said that regional nations must avoid being used as “chess pieces” by global powers.