Opposition Senator Leila de Lima has maintained that the Filipino people deserve a government that is committed to securing national patrimony, and defending national territory and security from those who would bully them economically or militarily.

De Lima, a former Justice secretary, said the present and future administrations should work on ensuring that the Philippines’ rights as a sovereign nation is reflected in the country’s treaties and policies.

“We should only work on the exploration of its wealth with countries which respect our exclusive economic rights over it. We should likewise blacklist corporations which participate in activities that violate our rights over our territory,” she added.

“National security” is part of the five-point legislative agenda of De Lima, who is seeking a Senate reelection in this year’s national elections under the senatorial slate of the opposition's Leni Robredo-Kiko Pangilinan tandem.

In maintaining international relations, De Lima clarified that the Philippines’ sovereign rights over the West Philippine Sea (WPS) remains non-negotiable, hence, should be asserted at all costs.

“We must rekindle our alliance with countries that support the rule of law and enact laws that support economic and military cooperation with them to protect the peace and stability in our region,” she added.

In a landmark ruling on July 12, 2016, the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) found no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to a “nine-dash line” in WPS. China has refused to honor the ruling.

It may be recalled that many countries opposing the “nine-dash line” claim awaited the outcome of the Arbitral proceedings, including Brunei, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam. So did other countries that have an interest in keeping the South China Sea safe for international passage, namely, the United States, France and Australia (all of which have been conducting freedom of navigation operations in the region since 2015), and other Pacific countries, such as Australia and Japan.

Last September 2020, European countries like France, Germany, and the United Kingdom issued a joint note verbale recognizing the PCA ruling and challenged China's claims.

President Duterte has persistently refused to assert the country’s territorial integrity and sovereign rights over the WPS, De Lima's camp pointed out.