A total of 96 countries, including the Philippines, have joined the newly formed Group of Friends of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), a venue that helps to promote compliance and address challenges to the so-called “constitution for the ocean”. Philippine Envoy to...
France has assured the Philippines that as a permanent member and president of the United Nations Security Council, it will perform its role to ensure that international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and sovereignty of its regional partners are...
With the 2022 presidential election fast approaching, former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario on Thursday called on the Filipino people to choose a leader who will offer good governance and political will and reverse President Duterte’s policy of “loving and embracing” China. ADR...
Retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio on Thursday proposed five measures that the Philippines can take following the inaction of the Duterte administration to enforce the 2016 Arbitral Award in the South China Sea or the West Philippine Sea. Retired Supreme Court Associate Justice...
A leading maritime law expert from the University of the Philippines (UP) believes that the government’s sudden decision to deploy coast guard vessels to patrol the West Philippine Sea is somehow related to next year’s election. Dr. Jay Batongbacal, Director, University of the Philippines'...
For China, the historic July 12, 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague that rejected its excessive claims in the South China Sea is nothing but a piece of “waste paper.” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian (via Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China) “The...
When President Duterte himself admitted in his 2020 State of the Nation Address (SONA) that he is “inutil” (useless) regarding China’s continued presence in the West Philippine Sea, and his professed “love” for Chinese President Xi Jinping, is it not about time to reject him? The was the...
As the world commemorates the fifth anniversary of the Arbitral Tribunal ruling on the South China Sea, Canada has expressed its concern over China’s “escalatory and destabilizing actions” in South China and the East China Sea as it called on all parties to comply with the international...
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Sunday maintained that the China Coast Guard law “does not exist” in as far as the Philippines’ territorial waters are concerned and is only effective within the Chinese borders. Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. (AP Photo / Sakchai Lalit /...
China’s unilateral imposition of a fishing moratorium in the South China Sea under its new coastguard law can curtail and put at risk the legitimate rights of Filipino fishermen to fish in Philippine territorial waters and exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and the Philippines does not recognize such...
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Tuesday supported President Duterte’s stance that the 2016 Arbitral Award that invalidated China’s excessive claims in the West Philippine Sea is “meaningless for now” if the purpose is to retake the Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal. Foreign...
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Tuesday issued a “last warning” against those who “talked tough and ended up biting dirt” following the confusion caused by the statement of Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque regarding the Philippine stand on Julian Felipe Reef in the West...
