Muted no more:

A renewed vigor in defending the Philippines' territorial integrity

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Nearly nine years ago, on July 12, 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague ruled overwhelmingly in the Philippines' favor and invalidated China's claims on the South China Sea. China's nine-dash line had no basis, the PCA said.

This was supposed to be a moment of victory for the Philippines. The legal validation that came from the arbitral court's decision was intended to settle the questions that came with the territorial dispute with China. Grounded on international law, the verdict should have assured Filipinos that the areas comprising what we now know to be the West Philippine Sea are no longer disputed. That they belong to the Philippines is a fact.

Unfortunately, our own government under then-President Rodrigo Duterte downplayed the significance of the ruling. He then spent the next few years appeasing and accommodating China, even at the expense of our own interests. He always claimed that China was too big and so powerful that we cannot ever imagine going to war with it.

But who said anything about war? Our case at the PCA simply protested China's provocations and illegal acts. It showed that we resorted to legal and diplomatic means to settle issues.

Emboldened by Mr. Duterte's stance, China consistently undermined the arbitral award, insisting the PCA never had any jurisdiction over it. And for as long as the former president was in power, we were always very careful in asserting our legal rights, afraid to antagonize our giant neighbor.