If China vacates the Spratlys, Vietnam would be rushing in to occupy the Chinese-claimed territories and even those that we do. Even if the United Nations by some miracle were to order the award's enforcement, it did not order China to do anything. It did not rule, though, that China and Vietnam claims the entire Spratlys as their sovereign territory. China claims the Reed Bank as its sovereign territory while the Philippines claims it is within its exclusive economic zone. In his newspaper column, Carpio declared that the arbitration suit is "one of the enduring legacies of President Aquino."

Source: Manila Times July 11, 2021 15:00 UTC