PCG: China’s defiance of 2016 arbitral ruling ‘troubling’

MANILA, Philippines — Other countries should be worried about China’s sustained defiance of laws that adhere to the principles of the United Nations, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Commodore Jay Tarriela said amid China’s provocations against the Philippines over rights in the West Philippine Sea.

“Beijing’s blatant disregard for the standards set forth in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 Arbitral Tribunal ruling is extremely troubling,” he wrote in a post on his X account last Oct. 3.

The 2016 arbitral ruling invalidated China’s nine-dash line claim over the entire South China Sea, as well as upheld the Philippines’ assertion of its sovereign rights over the West Philippine Sea that is covered by its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone. The Philippines also asserts the UNCLOS in exercising sovereign rights.

However, China’s activities in the West Philippine Sea resulted in hostilities against the Philippines and even damage to PCG’s patrol vessels since the landmark verdict.

“As the second-largest economy and a significant global military power, China is not only challenging the sovereignty of the claimant nations affected by its controversial nine-dash line assertion but is also eroding the core principles on which the United Nations was established,” Tarriela said.

He also discussed the establishment of the UN after World War II, wherein “nations all across the globe recognized the importance of cooperation to combat tyrants who violate human rights and confront authoritarian threats to sovereignty of other countries.”

“The UN Charter emphasizes effective collective actions to prevent threats to peace, address aggression and resolve disputes peacefully, while affirming equal rights for all nations, big or small,” Tarriela said.

He added: “The aggressive actions and provocative behavior by China in the West Philippine Sea and the larger South China Sea call into question the lessons derived from the two world wars.”

Tarriela was a speaker at the 2024 Goldrick Seminar, organized by the Australian Naval Institute and held in the country’s capital Canberra.

According to the program available on the institute’s website,