One of the three US-made F-35 aircraft (Polish codename Husarz) in the Polish Air Force takes off over the runway among Polish flags at the 32nd Tactical Air Base in Lask, central Poland, on June 12, 2026, on the day of their official entry into service with the Polish Air Force. Wojtek Radwanski, AFP/File
MANILA -- Poland agrees that China is obligated to comply with the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award, the landmark ruling that upheld key Philippine maritime entitlements and sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea.
In a one-on-one interview with ABS-CBN News, Polish Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Władysław Teofil Bartoszewski reaffirmed Poland’s support for the ruling and its enforcement.
“According to international law and principles, that is the case. So yes, we stand behind the Philippines, and we accept this order. Because if you start saying international tribunals do not matter, we can break the law and do whatever we wish, you create chaos,” he said.
China has consistently rejected the July 12, 2016 ruling, which found no legal basis for Beijing to claim historic rights to resources within sea areas falling within its so-called nine-dash line. The award is legally binding on both the Philippines and China under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to which both countries are parties.
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The conflicting positions have contributed to persistent tensions in the South China Sea, including a series of confrontations between Chinese and Philippine vessels in the West Philippine Sea.
For Warsaw, tensions in the Indo-Pacific cannot be viewed separately from the security challenges facing Europe since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Should Russia manage to take over Ukraine, as Putin intended, what will happen in South China Sea, Taiwan Straits, and other parts of the Indo-Pacific? So all of a sudden, we see that one war has impact on the very faraway region. Once you see that you can take by force a sovereign state and get away with this, people start getting ideas,” Bartoszewski explained.
He said the war had brought Poland closer not only to the Philippines but also to Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
“We believe that a world should be run according to international law-based order and not creating spheres of influence that the stronger can dictate to the weaker on what to do,” he added.
Bartoszewski visited Manila for the first time from September 12 to 15 and held bilateral political consultations with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). He said the discussions covered several areas of cooperation and preparations for the first-ever visit of a Polish president to the Philippines, expected later this year.
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“My trip was also devoted, or mainly devoted to the preparation of the visit, first ever visit of a Polish president in the Philippines, which will take place later this year… We went through all the political topics, economic topics, business, parts of interest in other portfolios, being agriculture, being energy, being digital matters, being defense and security, being maritime security, being culture,” he said.
Bartoszewski said Poland is looking at expanding its defense relationship with the Philippines following Manila’s acquisition of Polish-made S-70i Black Hawk helicopters.
He said the two countries could explore arrangements that go beyond the Philippines purchasing military equipment from Poland, including possible joint ventures and production in the country.
“We could always also look at the possibility of producing something in the Philippines, which becomes Filipino,” he said.
Bartoszewski cited Poland’s own experience producing Black Hawk helicopters as an example of how foreign defense technology could eventually become part of a domestic production base.
He said defense working groups were discussing equipment that may be of interest to the Philippine military and areas where the two countries could cooperate. He also raised the possibility of joint training and military exercises, while stressing that these have yet to be formally discussed and agreed upon.
“I’m not responsible for the military matters, so do not take it as decided. But we can train together, we can do common maneuvers together. I mean, this is, but this is still to be discussed and agreed. But what I'm trying to say is, we do not see any reasons not to do various things with the Filipinos,” Bartoszewski said.
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Poland and the Philippines held the inaugural meeting of their Joint Defence Cooperation Committee in Warsaw in July, where officials discussed defense priorities and modernization programs, exchanges of experience, and opportunities involving Poland’s defense industry.
Bartoszewski said Poland could also offer other defense equipment, citing mine-countermeasure warships as one possibility. He also disclosed that the Philippines has expressed interest in some Polish defense products.
“I know that the Philippines is interested in some of these items. So we see how it goes,” he said, while stressing that he does not speak for Poland’s defense ministry on specific acquisitions.
He stopped short, however, of describing the growing relationship as a prospective defense alliance.
“We are not talking about defensive alliance with the Philippines, which is slightly far away from us, but cooperation in various ways,” Bartoszewski said.
Poland also formally acceded to ASEAN’s Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia in Manila in July, further expanding Warsaw’s engagement with the region.
Bartoszewski said solidarity among smaller and medium-sized countries was necessary to uphold the international rules-based order.
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“Maybe every single one of us cannot create a counterbalance. But if we are together, then we can,” he said.
Poland is also pushing for greater trade and investment with the Philippines and supports the proposed Philippines-European Union free trade agreement.
Bartoszewski said Warsaw sees opportunities to expand cooperation in information technology, the digital sector and green technology, as well as agriculture. He said Poland wants to increase bilateral trade, while encouraging greater investment and people-to-people exchanges.
Asked where he wanted bilateral relations to go in the coming years, Bartoszewski described them as “strong, friendly, growing,” but said the pace of cooperation should accelerate.
“Strong, friendly, growing, must grow faster,” he said.
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