DEFENSE Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said on Monday the Philippines’ defense of the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award serves not only its national interest but also that of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
Speaking at the 37th Uspacom International Military Law and Operations Security Engagement (Milops) Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Teodoro said the arbitral ruling should unite Asean rather than divide it.
“Because it benefits the Philippines, who else does it benefit? It benefits Asean,” Teodoro said in his keynote address.
“The Philippines is doing Asean a service by standing up for the rule of international law in the most direct and concrete manner,” he said.
Teodoro said protecting the country’s maritime resources under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) and the 2016 arbitral award is in Asean’s collective interest because the ruling reinforces a rules-based order that benefits all coastal states in the region.
He gave assurances that the Philippines remains committed to upholding international law, not only to protect its own sovereignty and sovereign rights but also to fulfill its responsibilities to Asean and the international community.
He said the Philippines’ approach is consistent with Asean’s long-standing practice of resolving disputes through peaceful and legal means.
Teodoro pointed to past cases in which Asean members, including Malaysia and Singapore, submitted territorial and maritime disputes to independent tribunals and accepted the outcomes.
“In the same way the Philippines regards our approach to territorial disputes and maritime disputes, the rest of the Asean countries have done so,” he said.
Teodoro acknowledged that defending the country’s rights under international law has required sacrifices but said Filipinos remain steadfast in protecting the nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The 2016 arbitral award, issued by a tribunal constituted under Unclos, ruled that China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea, based on its so-called nine-dash line, have no legal basis. Beijing has consistently rejected the ruling.
