DFA-MOAO Underscores Importance of Arbitral Award, Department’s Implementation Efforts in Maritime Forum

QUEZON CITY 08 August 2023 – Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for Maritime and Ocean Affairs Maria Angela A. Ponce underscored the importance of the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award and the Department’s current implementation efforts of the Department in a forum entitled “Kasiguruhan sa Karagatan: Strengthening the Implementation of the South China Sea Arbitral Award.”

Assistant Secretary Ponce stated that among the values of the Arbitral Award is its promotion and “protection of community interests that encompass fundamental values shared by the coastal states of the South China Sea and the international community as a whole.”

“By elevating the value of the Arbitral Award as an international public good, we invite all countries to take ownership of it and take advantage of its strengths in the pursuit of their own maritime interests. In so doing, we advance the Arbitral Awards global recognition and acknowledgment," the Assistant Secretary added. The complete speech is found here https://sites.google.com/dfa.gov.ph/wpstest/statements. 

The forum also featured University of the Philippines – Institute for Maritime and Law of Sea Director Prof. Jay L. Batongbacal, Department of Justice Senior State Counsel Fretti G. Ganchoon, UP Visayas Professor Dr. Rosalie Hall, and General Emmanuel Bautista who spoke about the Philippines’ gains from the Arbitral Award, role of the security sector in its enforcement, and current government efforts and legislative proposals to further strengthen its implementation.

The forum is organized in commemoration of the 7th Anniversary of the Arbitral Award by Amador Research Services as part of its Project Waypoints together with the University of the Philippines – Institute for Maritime and Law of Sea (UP-IMLOS), and the Philippine Public Safety College. END