WATCH: What did the Philippines get from the 2016 Arbitral Award?

The 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea forms part of the cornerstone of the Philippine's maritime policy — which, in turn, informs its foreign, security, and defense policies

MANILA, Philippines – Every year, on July 12, the Philippines commemorates the historical decision by an Arbitral Tribunal that affirmed its entitlements and responsibilities within its exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea and deemed invalid China’s supposed historical claim of almost all of the waterway.

The 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea forms part of the cornerstone of the Philippine’s maritime policy — which, in turn, informs its foreign, security, and defense policies too.

Nine years since, Manila and its friends and allies have affirmed, again and again, the validity and finality of the award. But to China, the Award is just a piece of paper which they refuse to recognize.

In the West Philippine Sea, a portion of the South China Sea that includes the Philippines’ EEZ, China’s refusal to acknowledge the ruling is partly how they justify harassment against Philippine vessels. Their “revisionist, self-serving” interpretation of international law, in the words of Philippine Foreign Secretary Maria Theresa Lazaro, has resulted in “illegal, coercive, and aggressive actions” in those waters.

But the Philippines has, in fact, gained from the hard-fought award. Bea Cupin explains. – Rappler.com