Sen. Francis Tolentino said on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, that China's attempts to challenge the Philippine Maritime Zones Law "are futile and will not deter us from vigorously upholding our rights under international law."

"Wala pong karapatan ang China na i-veto ito...Hindi po mapapahinto ng China ang Maritime Zones Law (China has no right to veto this...China cannot halt the Martime Zones Law)," he said in a press conference.

Tolentino made the statement after China expressed its opposition against the Philippine Senate's passing of the Maritime Zones Act as it said the measure will only advance the enforcement of what it claims as an illegal arbitral award on the South China Sea.

Mao Ning, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said Tuesday that the Philippines is attempting "to put a legal veneer on its illegal claims and actions in the South China Sea" under the pretext of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Mao said the Philippines is unilaterally initiating an international arbitration without China's supposed consent.

The 2016 Arbitral Award, which Mao was referring to, came up following an arbitral case that Manila filed against Beijing, which China refused to participate in.

Tolentino said that the inclusion of the 2016 Arbitral Ruling in the Philippine Maritime Law by the Philippine Senate is "not only legitimate but imperative."

"It reaffirms the PH’s commitment to upholding international law. Any objections from China must be met with unwavering defense of our sovereign rights and adherence to lawful arbitration outcomes," he said.

"As an independent nation, China cannot veto our Maritime Zones Law," he added.

Maritime Zones Act aims to declare the rights and entitlements of the Philippines over its zone and fully enforce maritime laws. Further, it seeks to protect the nation’s marine wealth in its archipelagic waters, territorial sea, and exclusive economic zone, and reserve its use and enjoyment exclusively to Filipino citizens.

According to Tolentino, “the adoption of this measure is not only critical and imperative, but also very timely and necessary.”

Tolentino has underscored the significance of the maritime zones law by stating that the Philippines is an archipelagic and maritime nation with more than 64 percent of the country’s municipalities and cities situated on the coastlines.

"Given this and the fact that the fundamental interests of the Philippines are inextricably linked to the sea, it is important for the Philippines to have an effective maritime governance," he said.

According to Tolentino, effective maritime governance necessitates “the clear identification of the maritime areas over which the Philippines exercises sovereignty, control, or sovereign rights and jurisdiction, and of the specific legal powers that the Philippines would exercise in those areas.”

Deputy Minority Leader Sen. Risa Hontiveros, likewise, criticized China's attempts to question the country's maritime zones law, saying it is the "only nation which deludes herself into thinking that the Arbitral Award is illegal."

"The Senate will carry on with the enactment of the Maritime Zones Act," Hontiveros said in a separate statement.

"No other sovereign country has the right to intervene in our legislative affairs," she stressed.