Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. has raised the Philippines' concern over the recent "heightened tension" in the South China Sea during the recently concluded G7-ASEAN meet in Liverpool, United Kingdom (UK).

Locsin brought up the "serious concern" over the maritime dispute with China as he thanked the G-7 --UK, United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, France, and Italy-- for their support in the reaffirmation of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 ruling that favored the Philippines on the South China Sea arbitration.

"UNCLOS and the 2016 Arbitral Award are the twin anchors of Philippine positions and activities in the South China Sea," Locsin said at the session on the Indo-Pacific: Infrastructure, Technology and Shared Security during the ASEAN-G7 Foreign and Development Ministers Meeting on Dec. 12.

"We will not raise anchor and drift or sail away from them. We value your support," he added.

The Philippine top diplomat stressed that the "recent incidents and the heightened tension in the South China Sea remain a serious concern."

These, he said, has prompted the Philippines to lodge diplomatic protests for every incursion and opposed application of China’s Coast Guard Law beyond the limits of its maritime entitlements under the 1982 UNCLOS.

"China can claim what it wants and say what it wants but it cannot do anything it pleases without blowback from the Philippines," Locsin said.

These "worrying developments," Locsin further said, underscore the "urgency and importance" of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.

He said the Philippines, in its role as then country coordinator for ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations, "is proud to have helped lead the process and build consensus."

"But negotiations for the Code of Conduct, even in our watch, went nowhere. I opposed the exclusion of any outside power from the South China Sea. That would create a semi-legal sphere of influence repugnant to the comity of all nations," he added.

During the meeting, the Foreign Affairs chief also expressed the Philippines’ support for the strengthening of the ASEAN-G7 partnership and further welcomed concrete and cooperative initiatives towards advancing the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific.

“There is great potential in synergizing the G7 members’ Indo-Pacific strategies and the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific. They have common objectives,” Locsin emphasized.

According to the DFA, the meeting discussed ASEAN-G7 cooperation on shared security and regional collaboration; vaccines and global health security; infrastructure, economic growth and technology; climate change; and gender equality.

Locsin also highlighted the common goal of vaccinating as many people as possible, and expressed appreciation for G7 commitments to provide the world with over two billion vaccine doses.