The “persistent pattern of coercion” in the West Philippine Sea must not be normalized or tolerated and instead confronted with “firm, coordinated, and decisive measures” from both the Philippines and other like-minded nations, Stratbase Institute President Victor Andres Manhit said on Friday.
In his opening remarks at a high-level symposium titled, “Safeguarding the Maritime Domain for the Free and Open Indo-Pacific” held in Makati City on March 6, Manhit condemned the “clear and escalating pattern of coercion” involving Chinese state and state-linked vessels in the West Philippine Sea.
He cited Philippine Coast Guard data recording 64 illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive (ICAD) actions against Philippine missions or vessels in 2025 alone, which involved dangerous maneuvers, shadowing, water cannon attacks, collisions, radio challenges, and live-fire exercises.
“These are only the incidents that were reported and made public. Far from the cameras and the headlines, many more acts of intimidation occur at sea—often involving Filipino fishermen and frontline personnel who continue to operate under constant pressure and uncertainty,” Manhit said.
“The growing frequency and intensity of these incidents are deeply alarming. Such behavior, as we have stressed time and again, should not and cannot be normalized or tolerated. It must be met with firm, coordinated, and decisive measures to end this persistent pattern of coercion,” he added.
National Security Adviser and Director General Eduardo Año said the government remained “deeply concerned” by the continuing ICAD tactics by China, including coercive activities “designed to alter facts on the water while remaining below the threshold of armed conflict.”
Año stressed that the 2016 arbitral award “was clear…it invalidated China’s illegal nine now 10-dash line claim or the expansive maritime claims unsupported by UNCLOS – affirming the Philippines’ sovereign rights within its EEZ and clarifying the legal status of certain maritime features.”
“More fundamentally, it reinforced the principle that disputes must be resolved through law rather than force,” he added.
Manhit added that the Philippines “cannot—and should not—stand alone” in the efforts to promote a free, open, and rules-based Indo-Pacific region, through which nearly two-thirds of global trade passes.
“This is why the issue before us is not solely a Philippine concern. It is a regional and global one,” he said.
“Safeguarding the maritime domain is not simply about defending territory. It is about defending the principles that allow nations—large and small—to coexist peacefully: respect for international law, freedom of navigation, and the peaceful management of disputes.”
The key, he said, was to forge stronger and more coordinated partnerships among like-minded nations – including the United States, Australia, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, France, and India – that “believe in openness, transparency, and the peaceful resolution of disputes.”
Hosted by Stratbase Institute and the Japan Institute of International Affairs, the symposium brought together leading scholars, policymakers, and practitioners across the Indo-Pacific region to discuss how countries in the region could better cooperate within the Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) framework, which marks its 10th anniversary this year.
Introduced by former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2016, the FOIP covers three pillars: the promotion and establishment of fundamental values like rule of law and freedom of navigation; pursuit of economic prosperity; and commitment for peace and stability.
