Newspaper headlines blared on Wednesday last week that the South China Sea is ours, as ruled by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. This should be cause for a national celebration but the government and the Filipino people have rightly avoided gloating amidst victory. The way forward is not an easy one, after all, with China having already built artificial islands on the reefs declared by the arbitral tribunal as our exclusive economic zone, therefore, within our territory. It does not seem likely either that China will simply move out and hand over the South China Sea back to us after it has built a naval base, an air strip and defense facilities on the reefs now declared as ours.

Jimeno, R. L. V. (2016, July 18). The impact of the South China Sea ruling. Manila Standard, p. A10.