Japanese Ambassador Endo Kazuya joined diplomats, government officials, and maritime experts yesterday to mark a decade since a landmark legal ruling on the South China Sea.
Ambassador Endo attended the special symposium on July 10, which was hosted by the Stratbase ADR Institute for Strategic and International Studies. The event allowed leaders and analysts to discuss the current state of regional waters exactly ten years after an international tribunal issued its decision in the case between the Philippines and China.
During the event, Endo spoke about the rapidly growing relationship between Japan and the Philippines. He pointed out that recent top-level meetings, such as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s official state visit to Japan, have pushed defense and security cooperation between the two nations into a much stronger phase.
Turning to the maritime dispute, Endo emphasized that the decade-old arbitral award is final and must be followed by law under the rules of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. He concluded his remarks by sharing his hope that both countries involved in the original case will respect the ruling to help maintain peaceful and stable waters in the region.
