Sa ika-siyam na anibersaryo ng 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling sa South China Sea ngayong Sabado, Hulyo 12, sinabi ni Department of National Defense (DND) Sec. Gilberto Teodoro Jr. na ang pagdepensa sa soberanya at hurisdiksiyon ng bansa ay hindi “act of provocation.”
“Let it be abundantly clear: defending our sovereign rights and jurisdiction is not an act of provocation. It is the sacred and fundamental duty of the Republic,” saad ni Teodoro.
Ito umano ay isang “sacred and fundamental duty of the Republic – an expression of our responsibility to our nation, to the Filipino people, and to the countless generations of Filipinos who will inherit this sacred trust.”
“On this ninth anniversary of the 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling on the South China Sea, we are reminded of something simple yet powerful: the rule of law matters,” dagdag niya.
Sinabi rin ni Teodoro na ang pagrespeto sa international law ay hindi lamang prinsipyo kundi isang lifeline para sa mga archipelagic country “whose very existence is intertwined with the maritime domain” tulad ng Pilipinas.
Ulat ni Ansherina Baes