The Marcos administration will prioritize invoking the 2016 decision of an international arbitral court invalidating China’s maritime claim, as part of efforts to protect and defend the Philippines’ territorial rights over the West Philippine Sea, the Department of National Defense (DND) said yesterday. Senior Undersecretary Jose Faustino Jr. said taking advantage of the 2016 ruling to assert the country’s sovereignty over its territorial waters tops his 10-point agenda – as DND officer-in-charge – outlining his “guidance to align the department’s policies with the Marcos administration’s promise of a stronger and better Philippines through national unity, nation-building and economic recovery.”

Punongbayan, M. (2022, July 19). Protecting WPS using arbitral ruling tops DND agenda. The Philippine Star, pp. 1-2.