Philippine Foreign Secretary Maria Theresa Lazaro declared the 2016 South China Sea arbitral ruling legally binding at a ceremony marking the decision's tenth anniversary, while Beijing dismissed the tribunal's findings as illegitimate.
China's foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning called the ruling "illegal and void", reiterating that Beijing will accept no claims or actions based on the verdict. The Permanent Court of Arbitration tribunal ruled in 2016 that China holds no historic rights to South China Sea resources under its nine-dash line, a proceeding Beijing boycotted from the outset. Separately, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong signalled Canberra would raise concerns over what it called destabilising conduct by Chinese vessels in the disputed waters.
Tensions were further stoked after Chinese scholars at a Guangdong symposium asserted sovereignty over the Batan Islands, a gathering reportedly prompted by Manila and Tokyo's May agreement to begin maritime boundary negotiations. Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana dismissed the territorial claims as baseless and absurd.