The United States once more urged China to abide by the 2016 Arbitral Tribunal ruling that invalidated the basis of its claims in the resource-rich South China Sea, and to stop its “dangerous and destabilizing” actions in the region.
US calls on China anew to abide by 2016 arbitral ruling
Published Jul 13, 2025 01:55 pm
Members of Akbayan Partylist celebrate “West Philippine Sea Victory Day” and commemorate the anniversary of the Philippines’ 2016 Arbitral Tribunal victory by waving flags during a program in Quezon City on July 11, 2025. (Santi San Juan/MANILA BULLETIN)
In a statement by US Department of State Secretary Marco Rubio on the 9th anniversary of the Philippines’ arbitral win, he expressed the US’ continuous commitment to ensuring the freedom of trade and navigation in the Indo-Pacific region, which covers the South China Sea.
“The United States supports a free and open Indo-Pacific. We seek to preserve peace and stability, uphold freedom of navigation and overflight, maintain the free flow of trade, and oppose coercion to settle maritime disputes,” the statement read.
“The United States calls on China to abide by the 2016 arbitral ruling and to cease its dangerous and destabilizing conduct,” it added.
Rubio also called out China for ignoring the decision and asserting “unlawful and expansive” maritime claims.
“Since the 2016 ruling, China has ignored the decision, continuing to assert unlawful and expansive maritime claims and taking increasingly aggressive actions against its neighbors,” he said.
“Beijing’s expansive claims directly infringe on the sovereign rights and jurisdictions of Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia, and undermine peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific,” he furthered.
The official described the arbitral tribunal decision as “legally binding on both the Philippines and China” and “was a significant milestone and a useful basis for peacefully resolving disputes between parties in the South China Sea.”
‘Illegal award’
Meanwhile, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the award “nothing but a piece of waste paper that is illegal, null and void, and non-binding.”
“China neither accepts nor recognizes the ‘award,’ and will never accept any claim or action arising from the award. China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea will not be affected by the ‘award’ in any way,” it said.
China also declared that the arbitral award “violates” the basic principles of international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which became the basis for the Philippines’ case against China.
“We urge relevant countries to stop making reference to this illegal ‘award,’ still less making infringement and provocation. This counterproductive move will only end up backfiring,” it added.