A DAY after he was proclaimed by Congress as the next president of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. held a press conference where he vowed to uphold the country's 2016 arbitral victory against China that validated our rights in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), in a landmark ruling, ruled in favor of the Philippines. It settled a maritime dispute involving our nation's territorial right to exploit natural resources within our exclusive economic zone, which China refuses to recognize up to now.