The stage was set this week for the Philippines on the South China Sea row. In Manila Sunday, July 12, the fourth anniversary of the arbitral win at The Hague, the Duterte administration issued its strongest words yet on it. Reaffirming the key points, Foreign Sec. Teodoro Locsin Jr. said the ruling contributes to peaceful dispute settlement and regional stability. In Washington the following day the US aligned its policy in the SCS with the international court award. Rebuking “China’s treatment of the SCS as a maritime empire,” State Sec. Mike Pompeo cited aggressions against Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Tuesday, the US further warned against Chinese construction of military bases in the Philippines’ Scarborough Shoal. “Lasting, severe consequences” await China under the Phl-US Mutual Defense Treaty, said Assistant State Sec. for East Asia and Pacific Affairs David Stillwell.

Bondoc, J. (2020, July 17). Time for Phl diplomatic, legal offensive vs China. The Philippine Star, p. 9.