Subic marks WPS arbitral ruling anniversary with water salute

Subic Bay Freeport — The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) marked the 10th anniversary on the Arbitral Ruling of the West Philippine Sea (WPS) by a water gun salute and the blowing of horns of ships within this Freeport on 12 July 2026.

According to SBMA Chairman and Administrator Eduardo Jose, the agency is one with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in upholding the 2016 Arbitral Ruling on the WPS. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. maintains a stance of “firm action with diplomacy” regarding the West Philippine Sea.

Malacañang firmly asserts the Philippines will never yield any sovereign territory and fully backs the 2016 Arbitral Award that invalidated China's expansive maritime claims.

During the celebration, Senior Deputy Administrator for Port Operations Ronnie Yambao said that 28 vessels inside Subic Bay blew their horn at 10am while six tugboats conducted a water gun salute in front of the SBMA Administration Building 229. He said that these vessels performed 10 long horn blasts six minutes each with two-minute intervals.

The said celebration is in collaboration with the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Philippine Navy (PN), and other private shipping companies inside the Subic Bay Freeport. The United States Navy (USN) also participated in the celebration as the United States Naval Ship (USNS) John Canley and USNS Catawba, both docked at the Riviera Pier, blew their horn in unison.

On July 12, 2016, the arbitral tribunal adjudicating the Philippines’ case against China in the South China Sea ruled overwhelmingly in favor of the Philippines, determining that major elements of China’s claim—including its nine-dash line, recent land reclamation activities, and other activities in Philippine waters—were unlawful.

Predictably, China reacted negatively to the ruling, maintaining it was “null and void.” China may take assertive and inflammatory steps to defend its position.

The extent to which China abides by the ruling in the long term, and to which the international community supports and seeks to enforce the ruling, will have consequences for the utility of international law as a tool to ensure the peaceful, stable, and lawful use of the seas going forward.