Palace: PHL to pursue diplomatic path to realize tribunal ruling on WPS

From the Philippine News Agency (Jul 20): Palace: PHL to pursue diplomatic path to realize tribunal ruling on WPS

Malacañang on Wednesday said the government will continue to pursue the diplomatic path to achieve the country’s exclusive rights over the West Philippine Sea (WPS) granted by Netherlands-based arbitral tribunal.

Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella considered the Philippine sovereign economic rights granted by the Law of Nations to be “non-negotiable”.

“The Philippines continues along a diplomatic path to fully realize the EEZ (exclusive economic zone) rights granted by the Arbitration Court -engaging in bilateral talks to find mutually acceptable arrangements to RP, PROC; and consulting with our regional allies,” he said in a statement.

Abella added engagement with China towards the peaceful resolution of the issue must be compliant with the Constitution, International Law and the rule of law.

Last week, the international arbitral tribunal released a historic decision that the disputed WPS belongs to the Philippines. This, after more than three years since the Philippines filed an arbitration case against China.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=905621