European countries are unlikely to form a coalition to recognize the arbitral ruling invalidating China’s nine-dash line claim in the South China Sea as they are “desperate” for Chinese money. “Dangerous to form a coalition of states coalescing precisely to recognize the ruling because we will not find a single country joining it except Vietnam. US does not recognize UNCLOS. All Europe will not because it is desperate for Chinese money. Poverty does that to principle,” Locsin said on Twitter. UNCLOS is the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Lee-Brago, P. (2019, July 13). Europe won't coalesce to recognize SCS ruling - Locsin. The Philippine Star, p. 2.