00:00The Department of Foreign Affairs criticizes the Chinese embassy in Manila for its social
00:05media posts that belittle the 2016 arbitral ruling on the South China Sea. China claims
00:11Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal as its territory. It lies around 120 nautical miles
00:16off Zambales province, well within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone. The DFA says it
00:22categorically rejects the assertions the Chinese embassy made about the 2016 arbitral award,
00:27which China rejects. It says, quote,
00:31The award is final and binding and has become an unassailable part of the corpus of international
00:35law, providing legal clarity regarding maritime rights and entitlements in the South China Sea.
00:40It is not and will never be illegal, null, and void. The ruling declared China's sweeping claim over
00:47the South China Sea invalid, its island-building activities destructive to the environment,
00:51and its harassment of Philippine ships unlawful. It also affirmed the Philippines' 200 nautical
00:57mile exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea. This is essentially what Manila calls the
01:01West Philippine Sea. China has refused to accept the decision, even if it is a signatory to the
01:07United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the basis of the award.
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