The Department of National Defense (DND) commemorated on Friday, July 12, the eighth anniversary of the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s (PCA) 2016 ruling, saying that the historic award was more than a piece of paper but a proof of the Philippines’ rights in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Defense Sec. Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said the arbitral ruling is taken to heart by every member of the DND, making special mention of the troops guarding the BRP Sierra Madre (LS-57) outpost in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal.

“Ito pong award po na ito ay isinasapuso po ng bawat miyembro ng ating Kagawaran ng Tanggulang Pambansa, lalung-lalo na ang ating mga kawal na nasa LS57, BRP Sierra Madre, sapagkat ang mga gawaing ito po ay isinisigurado lang po na para sa Pilipino ang likas na yaman sa ilalim ng karagatan ng West Philippine Sea at gamitin ito para sa ating henerasyon at sa mga susunod na henerasyon upang mapayaman, maging matibay at matatag ang ating bansa (This award is taken to heart by every member of the Department of National Defense especially the troops of the LS57, BRP Sierra Madre as this ensures that the natural resources in the West Philippine Sea are intended for the Filipinos, our generation, and the next generations to nurture and strengthen our country),” Teodoro said.

The arbitral ruling will shape the future of the country and that’s the reason why it should not be considered as a mere scrap of paper only, according to the defense chief.

“Kaya po, ito po ay hindi biro-biro, hindi po ito salita lamang. Ginagawa po namin araw-araw - pinagsisikapan po namin na mapangalagaan ang teritoryo at sovereign rights ng ating bansa upang makinabang ang Republika ng Pilipinas, at hindi ano mang bansa (That’s why this is not a joke, this is more than a piece of paper only. We are striving hard every day to defend our territory and the sovereign rights of our country so that the Republic of the Philippines will benefit from this, and not the other countries),” Teodoro said.

Meanwhile, National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said the arbitral award is in the forefront of President Marcos Jr.’s foreign policy.

“Of course we don’t want war and nobody wants war. This is a combination of a lot of strategies including diplomatic, information, legal, even socio-economic and including military and law enforcement so we need to balance all of that,” he said on the sidelines of the West Philippine Sea conference in Makati City organized by the Stratbase ADR Institute.

Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, Philippine Navy spokesperson for the WPS, said the arbitral ruling must be used by the government to continuously assert its rights in the West Philippine Sea despite China’s aggressive actions.

“This is a landmark [ruling] by the arbitral tribunal and it shows that the international law is behind our back. This invalidated China’s 10-dash line, nine-dash line claims in that area,” he said.

In 2013, the Philippine government filed an arbitration case against China under the auspices of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) due to overlapping territorial claims in the South China Sea, particularly China’s nine-dash line claim (later 10-dash line) which the Philippines alleged was infringing on its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

On July 12, 2016, the arbitral tribunal ruled in favor of the Philippines’ claims and invalidated China’s dash-line claims. 

China, however, rejected the ruling and continues to establish its presence in the Philippines’ EEZ, including in what is now known as the West Philippine Sea.

The Philippines, on the other hand, started exposing the aggression by China through its “transparency strategy.”

“It would be a different story if we don’t have the ruling behind us. Now that the ruling is behind us, all of our actions are backed up by international law,” Trinidad said.