Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
| Photo Credit: AP

The Philippines “cannot yield” in territorial disputes, President Ferdinand Marcos said on Monday, after a series of escalating confrontations with Beijing in the South China Sea.

Manila is locked in a longstanding territorial row with Beijing over parts of the strategic waterway through which trillions of dollars worth of trade passes annually.

Without naming China, Mr. Marcos said the Philippines would continue to “find ways to de-escalate tensions in contested areas… without compromising our position and our principles”. “The Philippines cannot yield. The Philippines cannot waver,” Mr. Marcos said in his annual State of the Nation adddress to Congress.

His remarks came after the Philippines and China agreed to a “provisional arrangement” for resupply missions to Filipino troops stationed at Second Thomas Shoal, which has been the focus of violent clashes in recent months.

Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea. 

Ties with China

Philippine relations with China have been turbulent since Mr. Marcos took office in 2022 vowing to defend his country’s claims to the South China Sea.

A series of clashes between Philippine and Chinese vessels at flashpoint reefs have fuelled fears of a conflict that could drag in the U.S. owing to its mutual defence treaty with Manila.

President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has ordered his government to strengthen its coordination on maritime security to confront “a range of serious challenges” to territorial integrity and peace, as a dispute with China escalates.

The order, signed on Monday and made public on March 31, does not mention China but follows a series of bilateral maritime confrontations and mutual accusations over a disputed area of the South China Sea.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on March 31.

Editorial |Troubled waters: On the tensions between China and the Philippines  

Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce. China’s claims overlap those of the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 said China’s claims had no legal basis.

The latest flare-up occurred last weekend, when China used water cannon to disrupt a Philippine resupply mission to the Second Thomas Shoal for soldiers guarding a warship intentionally grounded on a reef 25 years ago.

“Despite efforts to promote stability and security in our maritime domain, the Philippines continues to confront a range of serious challenges that threaten territorial integrity, but also the peaceful existence of Filipinos,” Mr. Marcos said in the order.

The President vowed on Thursday to implement countermeasures against “illegal, coercive, aggressive and dangerous attacks” by China’s coastguard.

His order expands and reorganises the government’s maritime council, adding the national security adviser, solicitor general, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency chief and the South China Sea task force.

The order appears to expand the role of the military by naming the Armed Forces of the Philippines, not just the navy, among the agencies supporting the council.

The renamed National Maritime Council will be the central body to formulate strategies to ensure a “unified, coordinated and effective” framework for the Philippines’ maritime security and domain awareness.

Mr. Marcos increased the number of agencies supporting the council to 13 from nine, including the space agency and the University of the Philippines’ Institute for Maritime Affairs and the Law of the Sea.

In this photo released by ASEAN via the Australian Government, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines Enrique A. Manalo addresses a forum on maritime cooperation at the ASEAN Special Summit, in Melbourne on March 4, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Philippine Foreign Minister Enrique Manalo told AFP on Monday that his country wants to solve maritime disputes with China peacefully — but delivered a simple message to Beijing: “stop harassing us”.

Speaking on the sidelines of an ASEAN-Australia summit in Melbourne, Mr. Manalo defended his government’s policy of publicising Chinese manoeuvres in contested maritime territory — including the recent passage of warships near Scarborough Shoal.

“It’s merely trying to inform the people of what’s going on,” Mr. Manalo said. “And some countries or one country at least has some difficulty with that.”

“But our simple explanation is if you would stop harassing us and, and perhaps performing other actions, there wouldn’t be any news to report.”

China claims almost the entire South China Sea as its territory, brushing aside claims from a host of Southeast Asian nations.

Also Read | China, Philippines agree to lower tensions on South China Sea confrontations

Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the disputed South China Sea — has been a flashpoint between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012.

Philippine governments have tried to rally international and regional support to their cause — with mixed results.

“The Philippines is committed to a peaceful resolution of disputes through diplomatic means, or peaceful means,” Mr. Manalo said, while insisting “this will not be done at the expense of our national interest.”

“We are reaching out to partners in like-minded countries with similar issues and similar concerns.”

But Mr. Manalo acknowledged there was at least a small question mark over support from the Philippines’ most important security partner — the United States.

The two countries are treaty allies, meaning Washington has formally pledged to come to Manila’s defence in the event of a military conflict.

Ask about the November election — which will pit incumbent Joe Biden against Republican firebrand Donald Trump, he said it was a topic of frequent debate behind closed doors.

“Every country in the world is probably thinking of that, of course. The United States is a major, it’s a treaty ally of the Philippines. So obviously, any differences or changes in U.S. policy from existing policies would most likely have some kind of effect.”

“At this stage it’s fairly difficult to assess how it would happen, or what would happen,” he said.

“But all I can say is we are, of course, carefully monitoring the election season in the United States, but I’ve had talks with many of my other colleagues from other countries, and I think everybody is doing the same.”

“So certainly all eyes will be riveted on that election this year.”