Manila, July 15 -- As China continues its aggressive stance against its neighbours at a time when the world is witnessing COVID-19 outbreak, the Philippines has publicly called on China to comply with the 2016 arbitral ruling which said China has no 'historic rights over the waters of South China Sea'.

"Pursued within the framework of the UNCLOS - universally recognized as the constitution for the world's oceans - the arbitration award conclusively settled the issue of historic rights and maritime entitlements in the South China Sea," the official said.

"As a reaffirmation of UNCLOS, and by laying down an authoritative interpretation of key UNCLOS provisions such as Article 121(3), the award is a milestone in the corpus of international...