After meeting with top diplomats from the United States, Japan, South Korea, and India last week, incoming President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. outlined his approach toward China’s persistent incursions in the West Philippine Sea, serving notice that he would not allow “a single square millimeter” of Philippine territory to be trampled upon.
This is certainly a welcome move to Filipinos rendered helpless by the Duterte administration’s policy of acquiescence toward Beijing, despite its duplicitous actions against its smaller neighbor.
“Our sovereignty is sacred and we will not compromise it in any way,” Marcos Jr. said in an interview on Thursday. Significantly, Marcos Jr. said he would use the 2016 arbitral award of the Permanent Court of Arbitration based in The Hague, the Netherlands, in asserting the Philippines’ territorial rights in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
“We have a very important ruling in our favor. We will use it to continue to assert our territorial rights. It’s not a claim, it is already our territorial right and that is what the arbitral ruling can do to help us,” Marcos Jr. said. “And how do we do that? We talk to China, consistently, with a firm voice,” he added.
This does not mean going to war against China, Marcos Jr. rightly pointed out. Rather, he said, it requires pursuing bilateral talks with China, as well as multilateral discussions with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations over “conflicting claims” in the South China Sea.
The President-elect said that when Xi Jinping called to congratulate him, he told the Chinese president that “we have to continue to talk about this … This cannot be allowed to fester.’’
This stated policy is oceans apart from that of his predecessor, President Duterte who, at the very onset of his term, shelved the historic arbitral award that invalidated China’s sweeping claims over the South China Sea. Despite that offer of friendship and even “love” for Xi, Chinese incursions into Philippine waters continued, with a violent incident in June 2019, that nearly killed Filipino fishermen off the Reed Bank.
As recent as May 5, the US company Simularity has monitored the Chinese construction of an artificial island on Zamora (Subi) Reef in the WPS. Even the supposed billions of dollars worth of Chinese funding for infrastructure projects, often cited as the reason for friendly relations with China, came awfully short.
What a relief to hear indications from the incoming President of a course correction in Philippine relations with its trusted ally, the United States, which were sidelined in Mr. Duterte’s pivot to China.
In a meeting last week, Marcos Jr. said he discussed with the US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Heather Variava the “re-signing or extension” of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and “how it has to be redefined” in view of current security concerns in the region. In February 2020, President Duterte ordered the termination of the VFA, which governs the presence of US troops in the country, out of pique for the US’ cancellation of the visa of his former police chief Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa. He later put the termination on hold amid the US’ generous assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Marcos Jr. vowed not to follow Mr. Duterte’s “slightly unorthodox approach” to diplomacy and foreign policy, which was evidently fueled by a personal grudge against the US dating back to his days as mayor of Davao City. Then US President Barack Obama and the European Union have urged Mr. Duterte to respect human rights in the face of extrajudicial killings in the government’s brutal war on drugs.
The incoming President said he would pursue an “independent foreign policy” as prescribed by the Constitution, and would strike a balance between China and the US. The necessary balancing act is in tune with efforts to maintain peace and security in the region amid threats by North Korea, Russia’s war on Ukraine, and yes, China’s expansionism in the South China Sea including possible moves to annex Taiwan.
These issues were part of the agenda during US President Joe Biden’s Asian trip last week, when he met with leaders of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or Quad, which includes the US, Japan, Australia, and India.
It remains to be seen how Marcos Jr. would pursue this promised balancing act as he faces the intricacies of international diplomacy while advancing the country’s economic and territorial interests and contributing to regional peace. Given his close association with Chinese officials as seen during and after the presidential campaign, his moves toward this policy change would be closely watched.
But his message of dealing with China with a firm voice, in stark contrast to the defeatist stance of his predecessor, is the right and courageous approach consistent with the sentiment of majority of Filipinos. As surveys through the years have indicated, most Filipinos have expressed distrust of China and want the government to stand up and fight for Philippine sovereignty. Should Marcos Jr. manage to do this, he can certainly count on the support of a proud and independence-loving nation.
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