Full coverage: The South China Sea Issue

Following the arbitration award on the South China Sea, some Filippinos have expressed their doubts over the case and the United States' role in proceedings.

In a recent article in the Manila Times, columnist Rigoberto Tiglao said how the previous government under Benigno Aquino the Third together with the US raised tensions in the region. He wrote, "The Philippines was, as it has always been, America’s reliable lackey in the region." The author wrote, the US "doesn’t even have a territorial claim in the entire South China Sea.

Its involvement in the region is totally based on its sheer super-power status." Readers of the article online posted comments like: "The presence of the US will only make matters worse," and "China has claimed these territories for centuries, while we only have since the 1950’s." The Manila Times is the oldest existing English language newspaper in the Philippines.