Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has called for continued adherence to the South China Sea arbitral award as the ruling approaches its tenth anniversary, declaring that the strategic waterway should never become a battlefield of nations.

Marcos issued the remarks in the days before the July 2026 milestone marking ten years since the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague issued its award in the case brought by the Philippines against China. The president underscored what he described as the importance of upholding the victory, framing the 2016 ruling as a foundation the Philippines must continue to defend.

The ruling at the centre of the anniversary

The arbitral tribunal, constituted under Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, issued its award on 12 July 2016 in Philippines v. China. The tribunal found that China's claimed historic rights within the so-called nine-dash line had no basis in law under UNCLOS. It also held that certain features in the Spratly Islands relied upon by China generated no entitlement to an exclusive economic zone capable of overriding Philippine maritime entitlements.

China refused to participate in the proceedings and has consistently rejected the award, refusing to recognise its validity. The Philippines, under successive administrations, has treated the ruling as final and binding. The tenth anniversary gives Manila a public occasion to reaffirm that position, and Marcos's comments signal that the government intends to use it.

His statement that the waterway should never become a battlefield of nations reflects longstanding Philippine government language about the disputes. Tensions in the South China Sea have persisted since the award, with recurring confrontations between Philippine and Chinese vessels around contested features. Marcos's framing places the anniversary in the context of regional stability rather than purely legal victory.

What the anniversary means for practitioners

For legal advisers tracking maritime disputes, the tenth anniversary is more than symbolic. The award remains the most significant judicial pronouncement on the legal status of maritime claims in the South China Sea, and it continues to shape how states, insurers, and trading partners assess risk in the region. Marcos's public commitment to upholding the ruling reinforces the Philippine government's reliance on the award as the legal baseline for its maritime entitlements. Clients operating in the region should expect renewed diplomatic and public attention to the ruling throughout the anniversary period, and any Philippine enforcement or protest actions grounded in the award's findings.

The president's comments also demonstrate Manila's continued alignment of its legal position with its public messaging. By describing the outcome as a victory worth upholding and the waterway as a place that must not become a battlefield, Marcos linked the legal force of the award to the broader objective of keeping the South China Sea open and peaceful. The anniversary falls twelve years after the Philippines initiated arbitration in 2013, a case that changed the legal parameters of one of the world's most contested bodies of water.

The remarks were reported by ANC 24/7 ahead of the anniversary date.