Phl to UN: Uphold int’l law to keep Indo-Pacific free, open

Adherence to international law by all nations would maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific region, the Philippines said Sunday.

Speaking on behalf of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the 78th session of the UN General Assembly in New York City, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo reiterated that all countries are accountable for maintaining a rules-based global order.

"Its present and future rest on the predictability and stability of international law, which safeguards the rights of all states. If multilateralism is to endure, all states must adhere to the rule of law," Manalo said.

"Guided by an independent foreign policy, the Philippines actively works with nations to promote a rules-based international order," he added.

Quoting President Marcos, Manalo stressed that the Philippines is "a friend to all and enemy to none."

The DFA chief also said that the Philippines advocates the "peaceful settlement of disputes, in accordance with international law."

"This has always been our position with respect to the disputes in the West Philippine Sea, inasmuch as we are prepared to defend our sovereignty, sovereign rights and territorial integrity," he said.

"Our Constitution renounces war as an instrument of national policy, adopts the generally accepted principles of international law as part of the law of the land and adheres to a policy of peace, equality, justice, freedom, cooperation, and amity with all nations," he added.

In his speech, the country's top diplomat also pointed out that the 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea is "now part of international law."

China claims the vast South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea, with its historic nine-dash line claim, which the Permanent Court of Arbitration invalidated after siding with the Philippines.

Seven years after the Tribunal favored the Philippines' arbitral case against China, the ruling remains on paper as China continues to disregard it by keeping its illegal activities in the West Philippine Sea.

For Manalo, all nations must adhere to international law to sustain stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

"Adherence to international law contributes to keeping the Indo-Pacific, with ASEAN at the center, free and open and our region stable and peaceful. In line with this, we are guided by the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific," he said.