On July 12, 2026, the Award (not Ruling) of the so-called Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague will have its 10th anniversary, and the cabal of Filipinos in the American propaganda machine will have something to celebrate.
The July 2016 document is not a ruling, the PCA is not a United Nations agency or office. It is not Permanent, as nothing in this world is permanent. It is not a Court and by the panel’s admission, it won’t and could not touch sovereignty issues in the South China Sea, as these are beyond its jurisdiction. And in conclusion, what it did in more than 2 years of hearing was not an Arbitration, since arbitration presupposes the participation of at least two parties. China, from the outset, refused to participate.
So what is the Arbitral Award?
The government under President Benigno Aquino III, upon the prodding of the United States, initiated this arbitration case to assert its claim on certain areas in the South China Sea. Aquino even used his legal powers to coin the term “West Philippine Sea” to strengthen this claim, which proved to be futile since China itself refused to go along with the arbitration.
The slogan “Atin Ito” of Rafaela David is stupid and misplaced and Commodore Tarriela’s claims on Philippine sovereignty cannot hold water, even if one peruses the 2016 Arbitral Award itself.
On the issue of sovereignty vs. maritime rights, the Tribunal found it could not rule on sovereignty over land features as this was governed by general international law, not UNCLOS. What the panel could do is to determine whether certain features were islands or low-tide elevations and what maritime entitlements they generated.
By assessing the physical and legal characteristics of specific features, the Tribunal ruled that no feature in the Spratly Islands legally constituted an “island” that could generate a 200-nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). They were legally classified as low-tide elevations or rocks.
The Philippines continues to maintain that the Award on Jurisdiction and Admissibility and the subsequent 2016 Award on Merits remain vital components of modern international law, whereas it is understandable that China holds on to its intransigent policy that Huangyan Dao is its inherent territory. China Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian is firm that “China enjoys indisputable sovereignty over Huangyan Dao and its adjacent waters.”
In fine, it is well to consider the question aired by Ka Mentong Laurel of the think tank Asian Century Institute for Strategic Studies. Laurel asked what the 10-year-old Arbitral Award has done to the Philippine society, economy and culture during the last decade.
The Award and the concomitant incendiary debate it fostered divided the nation in ways that hampered its recovery and growth. The Award promoted US interests and endangered regional peace and unity. It also set back Philippine progress by a couple of years, even as a few Filipinos who are US lackeys are enjoying its monetary blessings, lining their pockets with blood-stained dollars.
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