I personally commend the strong stand that President Rodrigo Duterte made before the UN General Assembly that the arbitral award in the South China Sea Arbitration is “beyond compromise and beyond the reach of passing governments to dilute, diminish or abandon.” It is heartening that President Duterte has welcomed “the increasing number of states that have come in support of the award.”

I fervently hope that this is the policy that the Duterte administration will implement across all levels – in the protection of our exclusive economic zone in the West Philippines Sea, in the negotiations for the Code of Conduct, and in gathering the support of the international community for the enforcement of the arbitral award.