The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday welcomed the statement released by the Quad Foreign Ministers earlier this week expressing “serious concern” on the South China Sea situation.
“By highlighting the continuing dangerous and provocative actions, and the use of force and coercion in the South China Sea, the Quad Foreign Ministers has kept focus on the incidents that the Philippines has regularly contended with in the West Philippine Sea,” the DFA said in its own statement.
According to the Foreign Affairs Department, the Quad demonstrated the international community’s strong objection against such “illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive actions” in the West Philippine Sea and the South China Sea.
“We highly appreciate the Quad Foreign Ministers’ unequivocal support for the final and valid 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award, further cementing its status as an unassailable part of the corpus of international law,” the DFA wrote.
“It also underscores the need for the firm adherence to international law, particularly the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which remains the legal framework within which all activities in the ocean and seas must be carried out,” it added.
The department likewise welcomed the Quad’s commitment to build capacities across the Indo-Pacific region. Specifically, it cited maritime and transnational security, economic prosperity and security, critical and emerging technology, and support for humanitarian assistance and emergency response.
The Quad is a diplomatic partnership between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States focused on delivering outcomes for the Indo-Pacific.
