PH Embassy Briefs Filipino Community in Denmark on West Philippine Sea Issues

Ambassador Leo M. Herrera-Lim leads a discussion with the Filipino community in Denmark on the West Philippine Sea, the UNCLOS and maritime zones, the South China Sea Arbitration, and the 2016 Arbitral Award.

COPENHAGEN 02 July 2025 — The Philippine Embassy in Denmark  conducted a West Philippine Sea (WPS) discussion for the Filipino community on 24 June 2025 at the Embassy Hall, in support of the Department’s efforts to promote understanding of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Arbitral Award, and to increase public understanding of the Philippines as a maritime and archipelagic nation.

Ambassador Leo M. Herrera-Lim provided a brief overview of the Philippines’ maritime boundaries and the importance of its membership to the UNCLOS. He then explained that the Philippines took its case with China to the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in 2013 to defend national sovereignty and reaffirm its commitment to adhere to an international rules-based order by resolving the dispute through peaceful means, as well as to the peaceful use of the world’s seas and oceans.

After presenting a summary of the Arbitral Award issued by the tribunal on 12 July 2016, Amb. Herrera-Lim called the Filipino community in Denmark to action, by encouraging them to engage Danish policymakers to take the next steps in supporting the Philippines and states facing similarly challenging circumstances, particularly when Denmark assumes EU Chairmanship on 01 July 2025, and while it is a member of the UN Security Council. 

Members of the Filipino community expressed their appreciation to the Embassy for its efforts in making a serious and technical topic easier for the community to grasp. END

For more information, visit https://copenhagenpe.dfa.gov.ph/ or https://www.facebook.com/PHinDenmark/.