The country's top defense and diplomatic officials on Friday gathered at a high-level conference organized by the Stratbase Institute to mark the 10th anniversary of the landmark arbitral ruling affirming the Philippines' maritime rights in the West Philippine Sea.

Led by Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. as keynote speakers, participants agreed that the country must operationalize its arbitral victory and continue promoting a rules-based order in the region.

For Stratbase Institute President Victor Andres "Dindo" Manhit, the Philippines no longer needs to prove the legitimacy of its rights in the West Philippine Sea because "international law has already settled that question, and settled it decisively."

"As we mark this tenth year, we honor a legal victory. But we also inherit its responsibility," he said.

"The Award gave the Philippines a strong legal foundation. It is collective resolve, credible deterrence, and a whole-of-society collaboration fit for a multipolar world that will decide whether this victory stays alive, stays relevant, and stays enforceable for the next 10 years," Manhit added.

He said this means the government must strengthen the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine Coast Guard, and other frontline agencies with resources that match policy commitments.

At the same time, he said the country's ambassadors and international partners "must continue translating diplomatic support into defense cooperation, maritime domain awareness, and joint capability-building."

"And every community represented here—including our faith communities—has a role in reminding the country that this is a matter of national conscience, not only national security," he added.

Manhit said the forum also served as an opportunity to revisit the origins of the Philippines' legal battle over the West Philippine Sea. He noted that the Stratbase Institute, under the leadership of its former chair and then-Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, helped push for the country's arbitration case against China, which was filed in 2013 and resulted in the landmark ruling in 2016.

Among the members of the diplomatic community who attended the forum were United States Ambassador Lee Lipton; Indian Ambassador Shri Harsh Kumar Jain; Israeli Ambassador Dana Kursh; Ukrainian Ambassador Yuliia Fediv; Hungarian Ambassador Michelle Geraedts; Irish Ambassador Emma Hickey; Danish Ambassador Franz-Michael Skjold Mellbin; Canadian Ambassador David Hartman; Finnish Ambassador Saija Nurminen; Czech Ambassador H.E. Karel Hejč; Japanese Ambassador Endo Kazuya; Swedish Ambassador Anna Ferry; European Union Ambassador Massimo Santoro; New Zealand Ambassador Catherine McIntosh; Norwegian Ambassador Christian Halaas Lyster; German Ambassador Dr. Andreas Michael Pfaffernoschke; Austrian Ambassador Johann Brieger; Australian Ambassador Marc Innes-Brown; South Korean Ambassador Lee Sang-hwa; Slovenian Ambassador Smiljana Knez; and Deputy Chiefs of Mission Michael Welch of the United Kingdom, Geir Michalsen of Norway, and Norjufri Nizar Edrus of Malaysia.