“I see the efforts by the Chinese ambassador and foreign minister to discredit the Philippine Coast Guard as deliberate falsehoods forming part of a coordinated disinformation campaign”
There are moments when a nation must speak plainly. This is one of them.
As I look at the recent attacks on the Philippines’ legal position—especially those aimed at the Philippine Coast Guard and the Armed Forces of the Philippines—I believe they demand an unequivocal response.
When institutions tasked with defending our Republic are undermined, neutrality ceases to be prudence. It becomes surrender.
Such attacks weaken us precisely when resolve is required to defend our sovereignty under international law.
History shows us that those who argued for retreat never thought of themselves as traitors; they wrapped surrender in the language of pragmatism, only for history to expose the true cost.
Today, I see the pattern repeating. Rights are portrayed as negotiable. Clarity is replaced by doubt. Retreat is sold as wisdom.
In my view, this is collaboration by another name. It succeeds only when Filipinos are persuaded to doubt themselves. What is presented as “debate” is, in truth, disinformation intended to hollow out the Republic from within.
The Law Is Clear
On the law, there is no uncertainty. Our rights are firmly anchored in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and reinforced by the 2016 arbitral ruling that categorically rejected China’s sweeping maritime claims.
Even entertaining the idea of abandoning Philippine-held territory undermines our legal defenses and strengthens those who seek to dispossess us.
This is how nations lose territory without firing a shot: they surrender the argument before it is even heard.
Under UNCLOS, maritime zones arise by operation of law from archipelagic baselines. We do not require separate coordinates to establish our Exclusive Economic Zone.
China’s so-called “nine-dash line,” by contrast, has no legal basis, no recognized coordinates, and no standing under international law. Treating it as credible is not an error—it is an inversion of truth.
Accountability Begins at Home
I find the remarks of Senator Rodante Marcoleta, Senator Robin Padilla, and several media figures do active harm to our Republic. By questioning settled maritime rights and amplifying narratives crafted by a foreign power, they compromise our legal position at a time when firmness is required.
Sovereignty is not rhetorical. It is constitutional, legal, and binding. To cast doubt on it is to endanger the Republic’s defenses.
Palawan Is Not in Dispute
China is now claiming Palawan as its own. Let me be clear: this claim is baseless and categorically rejected. It lacks any historical grounding, legal basis, or legitimacy.
No History. Palawan has never belonged to China; no Chinese dynasty governed it.
No Treaties. No treaty ever transferred sovereignty over it to China.
No Recognition. No international body has ever recognized such a claim.
Equally dangerous is the portrayal of Philippine law enforcement, operating within our own territory, as “provocation.”
Defending what is lawfully ours is not aggression; it is an obligation.
I see the efforts by the Chinese ambassador and foreign minister to discredit the Philippine Coast Guard—including the factual briefings of Commodore Jay Tarriela—as deliberate falsehoods forming part of a coordinated disinformation campaign.
There is no legal dispute over Palawan. There is only a systematic campaign of lies.
A Nation That Knows Its Worth
Filipinos are not naïve. What is dangerous is the attempt to dress surrender as “realism” and retreat as “wisdom.”
Every colonizer begins by telling a people they are too small to resist. That lie collapses every time Filipinos choose courage over fear.
Defending Philippine sovereignty is not hostility toward others. It is fidelity to ourselves.
No inch surrendered. No sovereignty negotiated. The Republic stands.
(The writer, who has Juris Doctor, PhD, MNSA, MPA and MBA degrees, is Chairman Emeritus of Alyansa ng Bantay sa Kapayapaan at Demokrasya, People’s Alliance for Democracy and Reforms, Liga Independencia Pilipinas, and the Filipinos Do Not Yield Movement.)
