The 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐥 (𝐍𝐌𝐂) has 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐀𝐟𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐬’ reaffirmation of the 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬’ 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 2016 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐚 𝐒𝐞𝐚 𝐀𝐫𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝, stressing that the 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥, 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐚𝐰.
In a statement, the NMC said that 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and remains an important guide for the peaceful and rules-based governance of the oceans.
The statement follows the 𝐃𝐅𝐀’𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐄𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐥𝐚 questioning the validity of the arbitral ruling.
As the Philippines approaches the award’s 10th anniversary on July 12, the NMC reiterated the country’s commitment to diplomacy, international law, and the peaceful protection of its maritime rights and interests.
