President Rodrigo Duterte surprised many nations, and maybe even himself, with his forthright and strong virtual address to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, September 22. Mincing no words, the President invoked eloquently the verities of international law and affirmed the July 2016 decision of the arbitral panel of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague, which nullified China’s claim on nearly all of the South China Sea, and recognized the Philippines’ sovereign rights to parts of the waterway under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos). China refused to participate in the arbitration, a process that was in accordance with the Unclos, and rejected the tribunal’s decision.

Where he stands: Duterte affirms arbitral ruling, rebukes China. (2020, September 25). The Manila Times, p. A6.