The Philippines' president-elect says his administration will hold talks with Beijing over their territorial disputes in the South China Sea based on a 2016 arbitration tribunal decision. The ruling dismissed China's claims to almost all of the waters.

Ferdinand Marcos Jr. spoke in an online video uploaded on Thursday, discussing his foreign policy for the first time since winning the presidential election earlier this month. He will officially assume the presidency on June 30.

Regarding the South China Sea, Marcos said he will not "allow a single millimeter" of the Philippines' "maritime coastal rights to be trampled upon." He pledged to "talk to China consistently with a firm voice."

Marcos described the 2016 decision by an arbitration tribunal in The Hague as a "very important" one in his country's favor. He said his administration will use the ruling to continue to assert the Philippines' "territorial rights."

His latest comments sharply contrast with his remark in the run-up to the presidential election that the ruling was "not effective."

The Philippines filed the case at the tribunal in 2013. Its victory was based on the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, but outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte did not accept the ruling.

Vietnam, Malaysia and others also have their own claims in the South China Sea.