Which administration secured the landmark ruling from an international arbitral court recognizing the Philippines’ sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea? Former President Benigno Aquino III on Monday raised this question as he played down President Rodrigo Duterte’s claim that his administration did nothing to stop China’s militarization of the South China Sea, including waters within the country’s 370-kilometer exclusive economic zone in the strategic waterway known to Filipinos as the West Philippine Sea. Speaking at a news briefing, Aquino said Beijing disregarded an agreement it had entered into with member-states of the Association of Southeast Nations (Asean) in 2002 to ease the tensions triggered by the territorial dispute.

Ramos, M. (2018, June 5). China disregarded ASEAN agreement to ease sea tensions, says Aquino. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A6.