President Duterte was still reaping hometown praises for telling the world Tuesday that the Philippines stood by the 2016 arbitration award affirming its sovereign rights within its maritime areas when his spokesman rose to say that there was no policy change at all. The President said in his address beamed electronically from Manila to the 75th United Nations General Assembly in New York that the Philippines “firmly rejects attempts to undermine” the award handed down by the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague. Duterte declared that the award rejecting China’s claim over much of the South China Sea, including parts of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, “is now part of international law, beyond compromise and beyond the reach of passing governments to dilute, diminish or abandon.”

Pascual, F. D. Jr. (2020, September 27). 'No solution to SCS row in our lifetime'. The Philippine Star, p. 4.