US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. (Photo: Reuters)

Blinken’s statement, issued by the US Embassy in Manila on Tuesday, was released on the sixth anniversary of the 2016 decision by an arbitration tribunal set up in The Hague under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea after the Philippine government complained in 2013 against China’s increasingly aggressive actions in the disputed sea.

As he noted in his May 26 speech, the United States and its Indo-Pacific allies and partners are committed to preserving a system where goods, ideas, and people flow freely across land, sky, cyberspace, and the open seas. This system benefits all countries, big and small.  Preserving a free and open South China Sea governed by international law, as reflected in the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention, is part of this shared vision, Blinken said.

Earlier this year, the State Department released Limits in the Seas No. 150 which examines China’s revised articulation of its South China Sea maritime claims following the issuance of the tribunal’s ruling.  This study concluded that these rearticulated maritime claims remain plainly inconsistent with international law.

The US calls again on China to abide by its obligations under international law and cease its provocative behavior, the statement said. The US will continue to work with allies and partners, as well as regional institutions like ASEAN, to protect and preserve the rules-based order, according to the statement.