The West Philippine Sea is an issue of extreme importance to the Philippines. We are on the front lines of efforts to assert the integrity of the UNCLOS as the constitution of the ocean.
We also have under our belt the legally binding award from the Permanent Court of Arbitration that we secured in 2016.
We are prepared to use all channels, all available, peaceful and diplomatic means, to arrive at a peaceful settlement, a peaceful resolution of the issues in the South China Sea, in the West Philippine Sea. ASEAN has remained one of the very important tools that we have. We continue to talk to China within the framework of ASEAN in discussing mechanisms to manage the tensions and move on constructively. ASEAN remains a very important platform for us.