This day marks the seventh year since the passing of The Hague ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration which rejected China’s nine-dash territorial claim on the West Philippine Sea and ruled in favor of sovereignty rights for the Philippines. But the victory wasn't as prized as it was made to be, as China grows aggressive in the West Philippine Sea while the Philippines focuses on appeasing the opponent.
Over the years, despite the arbitral victory and diplomatic resolutions, China has continuously dismissed the ruling and pushed maritime aggressions in the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) through hostile encounters, bullying of Filipino fisher groups, and aggressive occupations. Multiple reports of Chinese vessels swarming the island and harassing Filipino ships have caused 627,000 fishermen to lose their livelihoods. Chinese Coast Guards (CCG) hostile firing of water cannons and lasers at Filipino vessels and Philippine Coast Guards (PCG) inflicted harm to fishermen and PCG. Further, the continuous expansion of artificial land formations implies a flagrant violation of national sovereignty. These actions are China’s way of blatantly disregarding the sovereignty of nations to which the nine-dash line violates.
The Duterte administration, despite its macho-fascist government, has kowtowed to China, calling it ‘a friend and partner for peace and development’. Contrary to Duterte’s anti-communism sentiments and programs, his apparently ‘deep and enduring’ relationship with the Chinese Communist Party places him outside his hypocrisy bubble. His administration has submissively enabled China and tolerated this situation for years with the hopes that it would lead to more Chinese funding for infrastructure programs, nevermind the Filipino fishermen being continuously disturbed, disrespected, and deprived of using its own EEZ, which posed threats to national safety and invalidated the Philippines’ sovereign rights.
As the reality currently stands, China will keep on escalating its measures to assert enforcement and sovereignty claims in the West Philippine Sea. The aforementioned activities have already enabled China to exercise control of the Philippines’ EEZ and deprive Filipinos of their national patrimony. Experts, lawmakers, and 84% of Filipinos urge the government to fulfill its obligation to assert and defend national sovereignty. In which the government should not settle again for a compromise that has just been a faint whisper in the wind for the other, or in a settlement of an agreement that China itself continues to violate.
China's behavior towards the Philippines is plainly abusive and arrogant. As it has been standing firm in its refusal to accept the 2016 ruling, using half-baked diplomacy as a mere pretense to resolve disputes while employing subterfuge and aggressive activities to exercise effective physical control over the disputed maritime territories. It is high time for the Philippine government to stand on its grounds, revitalize nationalism, and uphold our patrimonial sovereign rights and arbitral victory.
After seven years of kowtowing to China’s deception and demands, the government owes the people solid commitments to assert and defend sovereignty rights, improve the maritime situation, and make use of the 2016 arbitral ruling to our own advantage.
Marcos Jr. now finds himself in a diplomatic crossroads, many of which his family helped build since his dictator father’s regime: Uphold the Beijing-Manila ties forged during Marcos Sr. administration with the signing of the Joint Communiqué with China in 1975; bite the US courtship bait to maintain its control in the Indo-Pacific region in honor of the American hospitality that welcomed them during the Filipino people's reclaiming of Malacañang Palace; or acknowledge the sovereignty victory ruling won under Benigno S. Aquino III — son and namesake of the Marcos family nemesis.
It has always been clear that for the Filipino people, the West Philippine Sea is ours. Because if there’s one great quality Filipinos possess, it’s reclaiming our sovereignty— as demonstrated in our past and present battles to oust colonial, imperial, and authoritarian rules.