Golez message on the Philippine victory in the Arbitral Tribunal case vs. China:

Golez message on the Philippine victory in the Arbitral Tribunal case vs. China:

The world is watching us. How we fight for our rights according to international law. How we stand up against a giant country that has been gradually devouring our seas, our exclusive economic zone.

With the case we filed with the Arbitral Tribunal, we have shown that we stand up with dignity, we know our rights and we ask the world especially China to respect our rights. We hope and pray that the Arbitral Tribunal will affirm our maritime rights as defined by UNCLOS.

I expected to win but I did not expect to win this big. The ruling repudiated and demolished the nine-dash line. That benefits not only the Philippines but also Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam. They should be celebrating with us.

It sustained the traditional fishing rights of Filipino fishermen in Scarborough Shoal and scolded China for violating the rights of the Filipino fishermen: "it found that China had violated its duty to respect the traditional fishing rights of Philippine fishermen by halting access to the Shoal after May 2012.”

It also concluded that "China’s recent large scale land reclamation and construction of artificial islands at seven features in the Spratly Islands has caused severe harm to the coral reef environment and that China has violated its obligation under Articles 192 and 194 of the Convention to preserve and protect the marine environment with respect to fragile ecosystems and the habitat of depleted, threatened, or endangered species.” This makes them liable for such damages.