Sec. Teodoro blasts China’s rejection of arbitral ruling
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. slams China’s rejection of the 2016 Hague arbitral ruling on the West Philippine Sea, calling the Chinese Embassy’s response deceitful and insincere, as the Philippines’ DFA insists the award is final, binding and a key part of international maritime law under UNCLOS.
Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Sunday said the Chinese Embassy’s response to the Department of Foreign Affairs’ (DFA) statement on the 2016 Arbitral Award “is a window into the true intentions of the Chinese Communist Party in dealing with our country.”
“It clearly shows their insincerity and duplicity, which are amply personified by their embassy officials. We condemn the arrogant display of deceitful indignation by them,” Teodoro said.
The Chinese Embassy, in a statement dated 23 June, rejected the 2016 Arbitral Award, which affirmed the Philippines’ sovereign rights in the disputed West Philippine Sea.
The DFA earlier condemned China’s refusal to recognize the landmark ruling, noting that it was issued by a tribunal constituted under Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), a treaty to which both the Philippines and China are parties.
The DFA stressed that the award is final and binding and “has become an unassailable part of the corpus of international law, providing legal clarity regarding maritime rights and entitlements in the South China Sea.”
In response, the Chinese Embassy described the arbitral award as “illegal, null and void,” and claimed it was a “political manipulation disguised in legal garb.”
“The arbitral tribunal distorted and abused the dispute-settlement mechanisms of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), fabricated China’s positions, wrongly determined facts, and incorrectly interpreted and applied the law,” the Chinese Embassy said.
“Hindi kapanipaniwala ang mga sinasabi kaya idinadaan sa alboroto. Hindi tayo pasisiil,” Teodoro said.
The arbitral ruling, which favored the Philippines, will mark its 10th anniversary on 12 July 2026.
“The Award has since been cited in several international decisions and judgments,” the DFA said, adding that the ruling also clarified important obligations under UNCLOS related to marine environmental protection, including the preservation of fragile coral reef ecosystems, biodiversity conservation and the prevention of severe environmental harm.
“The Tribunal’s findings on the protection and preservation of the marine environment continue to resonate strongly within the evolving corpus of international law governing the oceans,” the DFA said.