1-6-2024 (MANILA) President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. seized the opportunity to deliver a scathing critique of China’s actions in the South China Sea during his high-profile speech at the prestigious Shangri-La Dialogue defence summit in Singapore on Friday, 31st May. In a bold move, the Philippine leader lambasted the global superpower, asserting that the dream of a peaceful South China Sea remains an elusive reality due to China’s conduct.
“Illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive actions continue to violate our sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdictions,” Marcos declared before the esteemed gathering of security experts and defence officials from various nations, including the US and China.
His remarks appeared to be a direct reference to China’s recent implementation of new rules that could potentially escalate tensions in the West Philippine Sea, an area claimed by Beijing. These regulations include the detention of foreigners suspected of trespassing, a controversial policy that has raised concerns among regional observers.
Marcos issued a rallying call to nations in the Indo-Pacific region, urging them to reject violations of the international rules-based order in the South China Sea. Simultaneously, he affirmed the Philippines’ commitment to resolving issues in the vital waterway “through dialogue and through diplomacy.”
“We will continue to work with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and China towards an effective and substantive code of conduct, one that is firmly moored in UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea),” he asserted.
The Philippine leader’s remarks come in the wake of a landmark 2016 arbitral ruling that sided with the Philippines and rejected China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea, a verdict that Beijing has consistently refused to recognise.
In the past year, the West Philippine Sea has become a witness to China’s increasingly aggressive tactics, including the use of water cannons against Philippine vessels, resulting in damaged ships and injured troops.
Marcos emphasized the legal foundations underpinning the Philippines’ claims, stating, “The lines that we draw on our waters are not derived from just our imagination, but from international law. We have on our side the 1982 UNCLOS and the binding 2016 Arbitral Award, which affirm what is ours by legal right.”
