Think of the neglected arbitral ruling on the South China Sea as like a smoking gun in a crime situation — i.e. the evidence that confirms the crime and snares the culprit. Despite Chinese President Xi Jinping’s obsession to erase it from the world’s memory, despite President Rodrigo Duterte’s confused decision to cast it aside, despite all doubt about its enforceability, the verdict of the Permanent Court of Arbitration on the Philippine complaint about China’s island-building in the South China Sea and its fanciful “nine-dash line” map is proving to be more durable and irrefutable than some have made it out to be. In the flurry of accusations, claims and speculations arising from the Recto (Reed) Bank ramming incident, the arbitral ruling is amazingly taking on new life and relevance.

Makabenta, Y. (2019, June 25). Arbitral ruling on SCS dispute vindicated in Reed Bank row. The Manila Times, pp. A1, A4.