IT HAS BEEN a decade since the five-member United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Arbitral Tribunal released its decision on July 12, 2016, ruling in favor of the Philippines on most of its submissions concerning the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
Adopted in 1982 and in force since 1994, UNCLOS is the international treaty that establishes the comprehensive legal framework governing ocean space, maritime activities and resources. It defines rights, jurisdictions and responsibilities, including those involving the territorial sea and exclusive economic zone.
Since around 2009, China has steadily intensified its efforts to consolidate its position in the WPS through various tactics, including using its military, coast guard and maritime militia to harass foreign ships; exploring and extracting resources in disputed areas; and constructing artificial islands where it has based military and civilian assets.
In January 2013, the Philippines initiated arbitration proceedings against China (Philippines vs China, PCA Case No. 2013-19). Among other things, it sought a declaration that the countries’ respective rights and obligations concerning the waters, seabed and maritime features of the West Philippine Sea are governed by UNCLOS.
The key findings of the July 12, 2016 ruling include the following:
(a) China’s claims to historic rights and resources within its nine-dash line have no legal basis;
(b) None of the land features claimed by China in the Spratly Islands is an island capable of generating a 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone;
(c) China violated the Philippines’ sovereign rights by interfering with Philippine oil exploration activities; prohibiting Philippine fishing vessels from operating; failing to prevent Chinese fishing vessels from operating; and conducting land reclamation in areas where the Philippines enjoys sovereign rights to explore and exploit natural resources; and
(d) China violated its marine environmental protection obligations under UNCLOS by causing “severe harm to the coral reef environment” through its land reclamation activities and harvesting of endangered species.
China is legally bound by the tribunal’s ruling by virtue of its ratification of UNCLOS. However, China reacted negatively to the decision, maintaining that it was “null and void.”
Former President Rodrigo Duterte dismissed the legal victory as “just a piece of paper” that he would throw into a wastebasket. He chose to downplay the ruling as he pursued closer economic and infrastructure ties with China.
Duterte repeatedly stated that the Philippines could not afford to go to war with China, claiming that a military confrontation would result in the destruction of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
He emphasized bilateral diplomacy over the assertion of the country’s legal and maritime rights.
During his 2016 presidential campaign, Duterte joked that he would ride a jet ski to the Spratly Islands to plant the Philippine flag. After assuming office, he described the statement as mere hyperbole, maintaining that he had never truly promised to retake territory from China and calling those who believed him “stupid.”
The Philippines’ approach to the WPS issue shifted significantly following the change in national leadership in 2022.
The current transparency initiative, which publicly documents and exposes Chinese aggression in the region, has transformed a once “abstract” territorial dispute into one supported by documented evidence.
“We did not ask Filipinos to take the government’s word for anything. We showed them the laser, the water cannoning, the bladed weapon, the ramming, and they drew their own conclusion,” said Rear Admiral Jay Tarriela, spokesperson for the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea.
Tarriela noted that the initiative, launched three years ago, has exposed China’s actions at sea through videos, photographs and firsthand accounts rather than government messaging.
“We’re not the one escalating the tension. We’re just telling the world what is happening,” he stressed. “Our consensus rests on evidence and on law, not on propaganda.”
A peace walk was held at the Quirino Grandstand to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 2016 WPS arbitral award.
The WPS Mural Festival 2026 also officially unveiled its top 100 mural finalists, whose works centered on the theme “Kulayan. Karagatan. Kalayaan.” The open mural competition drew 220 submissions from across the country and aimed to foster deeper awareness and collective unity regarding the Philippines’ maritime rights by giving local artists a platform to express their creativity and patriotism.
A coalition of 14 nations declared in a joint statement that Beijing’s sweeping maritime claims in the WPS completely lack legal standing. The countries are the Philippines, Australia, Canada, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, New Zealand, Romania, Slovenia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
I was president of the Maritime Law Association of the Philippines (MARLAWPh) when the arbitral award was issued in 2016.
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Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho heads the Seafarers’ Division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan Law Offices. For comments, e-mail info@sapalovelez.com, or call 0908-8665786./PN
