PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. yesterday said respect for the Philippines’ “sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction is, and has always been and will always be, non-negotiable” amid the threat the country faces in the South China Sea.
The President did not name China but Chinese vessels have been harassing and bullying Filipino ships and fishermen in the West Philippine Sea in the South China Sea.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, overlapping the exclusive economic zones of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Unresolved disputes have festered for years over ownership of various islands and features.
In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague ruled that China’s sweeping claims in the region were not supported by international law, a decision that Beijing rejects.
“Today, the most significant threat to the peace and stability we strive for is right here in our own neighborhood, here in the Indo-Pacific region. And this is not just an opinion. It is a fact. We in the Philippines can say this with certainty, because we face the threat every single day,” Marcos said at the Manila Strategy Forum hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, held at the Solaire Resort and Hotel in Parañaque City.
“Our government vessels and fisherfolk continue to be harassed in our own waters, and we remain on the receiving end of illegal, coercive, aggressive, and dangerous actions in the South China Sea,” he added.
Hours after Marcos’ speech, Reuters reported that the Chinese government has approved the creation of a national nature reserve at the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea as Beijing moves to reinforce its territorial claims and maritime rights in the contested region.
The Philippine embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report from Beijing.
Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, Philippine Navy spokesman for the West Philippine Sea, declined to comment and referred questions on the matter to the National Maritime Council, saying the issue is a policy matter.
In January, Trinidad said the government has four “red lines” in the West Philippine Sea, including a land reclamation at Scarborough Shoal, also known as Bajo de Masinloc and Panatag Shoal.
“It’s a red line. It’s non-negotiable for them to conduct any structural reclamation on Bajo de Masinloc,” he said.
Trinidad has also said the government has contingency measures in case China conducts land reclamation operations at the shoal.
Scarborough Shoal has long been a flashpoint in the dispute between Beijing and Manila over sovereignty over and fishing access to a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce.
In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague ruled that China’s sweeping claims in the region were not supported by international law, a decision that Beijing rejects.
Tensions have simmered in recent years in the strategic waterway. Last month, Manila and Beijing traded accusations over an encounter at the Scarborough Shoal that resulted in the first known collision between Chinese vessels in the area.
The designation of the nature reserve is “an important guarantee for maintaining the diversity, stability, and sustainability of the atoll’s natural ecosystem,” China’s State Council said.
The specific boundaries and zoning of the reserve will be announced separately by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, it added.
DRILLS
An anti-submarine helicopter and a gunboat of the Philippine Navy (PN) fired missiles on Tuesday during a drill west of Zambales, fronting Scarborough Shoal.
Five Navy ships, including the new guided missile frigate BRP Miguel Malvar; and a ScanEagle unmanned aerial vehicle provided “critical support” to the missile exercise.
BRP Suluan, a patrol vessel from the Philippine Coast Guard; and units from the Marine Corps’ Coast Defense Regiment also played a support role to the drill.
The Philippine Fleet (PF), a major unit under the Navy, said the missiles were fired from their Spike Non-Line of Sight Missile System (NLOS).
Acting Navy chief Rear Admiral Alan Javier and PF commander Rear Admiral Joe Antony Orbe, witnessed the exercise “in real time via advanced command and control systems” from a monitoring room at the PF headquarters at Naval Base Heracleo Alano in Cavite City.
“The AW-159 (anti-submarine) helicopter successfully conducted the first-ever aerial launch of a Spike NLOS and destroyed its designated target,” the PF said in a statement yesterday.
A patrol gunboat, BRP Tomas Campo, “then carried out another coordinated Spike NLOS missile launch against a separate target,” the PF said.
The PF released videos of the helicopter and the gunboat firing and hitting their targets.
It said the first aerial launch of the Spike NLOS missile from the AW-159 “proved that missiles can be launched from both air and surface assets, streamlining flexibility and logistics.”
“By integrating advanced missile technology into naval and air platforms, the Navy enhances its ability to defend key maritime chokepoints, deny hostile incursions, and project power across dispersed littoral and offshore areas,” the PF added.
It described the Spike NLOS as a “precision-guided, multi-purpose missile system” developed by the Rafael Advanced Defense Systems of Israel.
“It is designed to engage targets beyond visual range with pinpoint accuracy using advanced electro-optical and real-time video guidance. It empowers operators with full control from launch to impact,” it said.
The PF said the “successful” live-fire missile exercise forms part of the military’s broader Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept.
The drill was held barely a month after a Chinese Coast Guard vessel and a Chinese Navy ship collided near the Scarborough Shoal while chasing and harassing BRP Suluan.
The collision caused substantial damage to the Chinese Coast Guard vessel.
COOPERATION
The President said the Philippines is “very much open” to cooperating with its neighboring countries, apart from the US which is the country’s closest ally and strategic partner.
Marcos noted the Philippines’ trilateral partnership with the US and Japan, under which a maritime dialogue was held last December and a national security meeting in May.
“These have resulted from the firm commitment of three maritime democracies to a free and open Indo-Pacific that is connected, inclusive, and prosperous,” he said
The President said the trilateral cooperation also includes engagements on cyber, digital, and other areas of the new technology, President Marcos pointed out.
Marcos said the Philippines also conducted multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activities (MCA) with Australia, Canada, Japan, and New Zealand within the country’s exclusive economic zone.
“Because today’s challenges are not bound by borders. Because of that, cooperation is absolutely essential,” he said.
He added that the alliance of the Philippines and the US has also already reached a “necessary and natural progression towards trilateral and minilateral, multilateral engagements, building individual and collective capabilities to address common challenges.”
The President said the Philippine-US alliance also remains a “beacon of stability” amid growing geopolitical uncertainty in the Indo-Pacific region.
“Now midway into my term, and having seen our cooperation with the United States reach new heights, I can say, with confidence, that the Philippines-United States relations remain a beacon of stability,” Marcos said.
JAPAN TIES
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr and his Japanese counterpart, Gen Nakatani, have committed to enhance defense relations of the two nations amid the evolving security challenges in the Indo-Pacific region.
Teodoro and Nakatani made the commitment during a meeting last Tuesday on the sidelines of the 2025 Seoul Defense Dialogue in South Korea.
The meeting occurred two days before the entry into force of the 2024 Reciprocal Access Agreement which provides legal framework to military exercises between Filipino and Japanese forces.
In a statement, Defense spokesman Arsenio Andolong said the two defense chiefs welcomed the RAA’s upcoming entry into force.
Andolong said the agreement will “facilitate enhanced cooperation, joint training, and operational activities between Philippine and Japanese forces.”
“Preparations are underway for the formal approval of the Implementing Arrangements of the RAA,” added Andolong.
Andolong said Teodoro and Nakatani emphasized that maritime cooperative remains “crucial”, noting the evolving security challenges in the region.
They also cited the importance of strengthening the defense capabilities of the Philippines in air, maritime domain awareness, cybersecurity and communications.
“Through this meeting, the Philippines and Japan affirmed their shared commitment to advancing bilateral defense cooperation, enhancing regional security, and promoting peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region,” said Andolong.
The Japan defense ministry, in statement, said: “The two ministers, taking into account the planned coming into effect of Japan-Philippines RAA, concurred to promote discussions toward further strengthening operational collaboration.”
It said the defense chiefs “concurred to promote defense equipment and technology cooperation.”
“The two Ministers affirmed their commitment to continue close communication between the defense authorities and to further strengthen defense cooperation and exchanges between Japan and the Philippines,” the statement added. – With Victor Reyes and Reuters
