Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. has welcomed support for the 2016 Arbitral Award and reaffirmed the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as the legal framework within which all the activities in the oceans and seas must be carried out. He made the statement at the recent East Asia Summit (EAS) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held via video conference. “The Philippines aspires for the South China Sea to remain a sea of peace, security, stability, and prosperity. But it will never pay for that with its national honor or a square inch of territory or a drop of water that is its own,” Manila’s top diplomat said.

Mercene, R. (2021, August 9). Peace in SCS won't come at PHL's expense-Locsin. Business Mirror, p. A2.