MANILA - The United Kingdom on Monday reaffirmed its commitment to uphold international maritime law, including the 2016 arbitral award that invalidated China's sweeping claims in the South China Sea.

The UK is "also a maritime nation" which is why it is "really focused on international law, [and] international maritime law" including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), British Ambassador to the Philippines Laure Beaufils told reporters after paying President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr a courtesy visit.

"We'll continue to work with all partners in maintaining the international maritime law and UNCLOS and the 2016 arbitral award as we move forward in the years to come," she said.

"We've been working in particular very closely with the Philippines in the past. We will continue to do so to support maritime law through training, but also through joint exercises," she said.

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"We currently have a few British vessels in the region. We will build on that, our carrier strike group will be back in this part of the world in 2023," she said.

Last year, the UK sent its largest and most powerful aircraft carrier and a fleet of warships to sail through the West Philippine Sea in what Britain's Royal Navy calls its "most significant deployment" for the past 25 years.

• Philippines files fresh protest vs China's 'incessant' presence in West PH Sea

The journey - which covered 26,000 nautical miles from the Mediterranean to the Philippine Sea - happened shortly after Manila filed a fresh diplomatic protest against Beijing over its "incessant" presence around the Pagasa Island in the West Philippine Sea.

• Philippines files fresh protest vs China's 'incessant' presence in West PH Sea

In 2016, the Hague-based International Court of Arbitration ruled that China has no rights in maritime areas that fall within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.

Beijing, however, has refused to recognize the ruling and continued to deploy vessels and develop military assets in the strategic waterway where billions-worth of sea-borne goods pass through annually.

Last week, Marcos said he will assert the Philippines' claim in the West Philippine Sea while continuing to pursue bilateral contact with China.

"We will not allow a singe square millimeter of our maritime coastal rights to be trampled upon," Marcos said.

"How do we do that? We talk to China consistently with a firm voice. Hindi naman natin puwedeng gerahin (We cannot wage war against them)," he said.

The President-elect described the Philippines' Hague victory as a "very important ruling in our favor" that the country would "use."

• Marcos wants 'bilateral cooperation with China' while 'asserting' claim in West PH Sea

In a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier this month, Marcos said that the Philippines and China "must not allow conflicts to become historically important."

Earlier this year, Marcos downplayed the value of arbitration, saying it did not work for Manila because Beijing was not willing to abide by the ruling.

• Marcos Jr. vows to pursue bilateral deal with China on West PH Sea issue
• Chinese leader calls Marcos a promoter of China-PH friendship: embassy
• Palace says 'no one can diminish' PH arbitral win that China calls 'wastepaper'

OTHER TOPICS DISCUSSED

EARLIER: British Ambassador to PH Laure Beaufils pays a courtesy call on President-elect @bongbongmarcos , brings a letter from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pic.twitter.com/BeY0mTp5ZD

— Kat Domingo (@_katrinadomingo) May 30, 2022

Aside from territorial disputes in the West Philippine Sea, Beaufils said she and Marcos also talked about their two countries' "really strong bilateral relationship."

"We intend to take that from strength to strength over the course of the president-elect's administration," she said.

"We were able to discuss areas of particular joint interest where we want to further work together and expand, and broaden and deepen our collaboration."

These include boosting the economy after the pandemic, supporting investments and infrastructure, energy, climate change, the peace process in Mindanao, human rights, and media freedom.

"We spoke about the broad range of areas of mutual interests for our countries, and I said that I was very much looking forward to working with the next administration," Beaufils said.

"I'm delighted that I've just come out of a meeting with president-elect, which was very useful, very informative and very warm."

In 2021, the Philippines was identified as the UK's 62nd largest trading partner, with total trade between the two countries amounting to around P118.82 billion, according to data from Britain's Department for International Trade.

Among the top products the Philippines exports to the UK are items related to aircraft and ships, vegetables and fruits, and pulp and waste paper.

The Philippines, on the other hand, imports electrical goods, meat, medicine and cleansing materials from the UK.

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