The enduring significance of the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award lies not only in the legal victory won by the Philippines but also in the government's continuing commitment to uphold and institutionalize its principles, according to the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG).

Speaking during the Department of Foreign Affairs' commemoration of the ruling's 10th anniversary, Solicitor General Darlene Marie Berberabe described the award as a "living instrument" of national policy because its principles have been embedded in Philippine laws, institutions and governance.

"The South China Sea Award endures not because it was rendered in The Hague, but because the Republic chose, and continues to choose, to live by it," Berberabe said.

She said the ruling affirmed the Philippines' sovereign rights within its exclusive economic zone, protected the traditional fishing rights of Filipino fishermen in Bajo de Masinloc, and rejected China's sweeping claims based on the so-called nine-dash line.

According to the OSG, the Philippines has translated the ruling into concrete action through legislation, maritime governance measures and the continued assertion of its rights in the West Philippine Sea through peaceful and lawful means.

"We are not the ships; we are the legal spine. The Office exists so that every action the Republic takes at sea can be defended in every forum in which it may ever be tested," Berberabe said.

She added that the arbitral ruling safeguards not only the Philippines' maritime entitlements but also the rules-based international order founded on freedom of navigation, regional stability and the peaceful settlement of disputes.

"An award is paper until a Republic chooses to live by it," she said.