The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Friday debunked the claims of China that it is being used as a “pawn” by the United States. Manila is also not letting Beijing’s actions in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) go unchallenged.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said in a speech delivered for him by DFA Assistant Secretary Marshall Louis Alferez that there are “some that want to project the WPS as a matter between great powers,” and that the Philippines is just one of the “pawns in this game.”
Manalo denied this notion. He said making such a pronouncement is only “a simplistic way of explaining a complex issue,” which he said is “designed to manipulate people into being disengaged.”
According to the DFA chief, the Philippines is “not (a) bystander (in this) situation” as it needs “to act to protect our interests and we need to act as cohesively as possible – by rejecting counternarratives that seek to distract us from our objectives.”
The country’s top diplomat lamented the narrative that has surrounded the WPS issue “for far too long.” He noted that such perspective is being “obscured by misinformation and manipulation,” and sows discord among various nations and peoples.
The Philippines has been asserting its rights over the WPS, which is affirmed by the 2016 Arbitral Ruling and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
However, China continues to oppose the Philippines as it asserts its massive claim over the entire South China Sea, including the WPS, on the basis of the so-called nine-dash line concept that was rejected by the United Nations-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016.
Manalo said the Philippines “must expose the illegality of the nine-dash line that is being used as the basis for threatening the livelihoods of our fishermen through harassment and intimidation, and for reclamation activities that degrade the environment in these vital waters.”
“We should not allow ourselves to be painted as the aggressors or the violators,” he said, adding that the country’s role in doing so is “firm.”
“We stand firm on the foundation of international law… We categorically reject the excessive claims and aggressive actions by the People’s Republic of China in the WPS,” Manalo said in a speech delivered during a strategic communication workshop by the Merchant Marine Academy.
The DFA chief also stressed that China’s claim stands “in stark opposition to the rule of law and the very principles that ensure peace and stability in our region.”
“We need to defend the international law of the sea, and a rules-based order that fosters peace and prosperity for all nations,” Manalo said.