Kabataan Party-list on Saturday, July 12, stressed the need to uphold the Philippines’ victory in its arbitral case against China on the West Philippine Sea (WPS) amid the latter’s continued harassment and bullying in the body of water that it claims to be its own.

Kabataan Party-list Rep. Renee Co said the country must uphold its triumph​ that it achieved nine years ago through collective action and organized struggle of the people.

But that should be done without United States (US) intervention, she added.

“For nine years, China has tried every excuse in the book to invalidate our legal victory — from questioning the tribunal's jurisdiction to now attacking its legitimacy. Lahat ng ito ay patunay na alam nilang talo sila sa batas,” Co said.

(All of this proves that they know they have lost in the legal arena.)

“Their actions speak louder than words: continued harassment of our fisherfolk, blasting water cannons against Philippine vessels, and aggressive patrols in our exclusive economic zone — all these show blatant disregard for the exclusive rights of the Filipino people to use the resources within our EEZ (exclusive economic zone),” she added.

She said the Philippines--like what it did in The Hague--must also fight for the demilitarization of the WPS, so it could not be used as a pawn by either the US or by China.

“National sovereignty is upheld only if we exercise a truly independent foreign policy. The youth will make sure of this,” she said.

​"Ang lakas ng bayan ang tunay na sandata natin​ (The strength of the nation is our true weapon): the fisherfolk who refuse to be intimidated, the youth who continue to speak out, and the communities that stand together against foreign aggression,” she added.