Many eyes and ears, at home and abroad, will be tuned in to the meeting on Tuesday next week between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken – likely for discussions on cooperation and security matters.
This will precede a planned summit in Washington, DC next April among leaders from the Philippines, Japan and the United States which President Marcos said will tackle closer maritime cooperation.
The meeting, at a date still to be announced, would discuss strengthening defense and economic ties among Manila, Tokyo, and Washington, the three countries with shared concerns about China’s expansive maritime claims.
The Manila meeting will likely discuss the growing frequency and intensity of Chinese incursions into areas of the South China Sea claimed by the Philippines. Japan has not as yet confirmed attendance in the Manila meeting.
On July 12, 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, adjudicating Manila’s case against Beijing in the South China Sea, ruled overwhelmingly in favor of the Philippines, determining that major elements of China’s claim – including its nine-dash line, recent land reclamation activities, and other activities in Philippine waters – were unlawful.
Predictably, China reacted negatively to the ruling, maintaining it was “null and void.”
The extent to which China abides by the ruling in the long term, and to which the international community supports and seeks to enforce the ruling, will have consequences for the use of international law as a tool to ensure the peaceful, stable, and lawful use of the seas going forward.
These have resulted in a series of dangerous high-seas encounters, including, most recently, the China Coast Guard ship’s ramming of a Philippine Coast Guard vessel on humanitarian mission within Philippine waters.
The incident also saw the CCG fire water cannons at one of the supply vessels, smashing its windshield and injuring four navy personnel.
Like many recent incidents, this confrontation took place close to the Philippine-occupied Second Thomas Shoal, or the Ayungin Shoal.
In Berlin this week, during a three-day state visit, President Marcos said the intention of the Washington meeting “is to continue the plan to strengthen the cooperation among the United States, Japan, and the Philippines.
Both Washington and Tokyo have deepened their defense cooperation with the Philippines since Mr. Marcos took office on June 30, 2022, holding joint maritime patrols and, in the case of the US, negotiating access to an expanded roster of Philippine military facilities under the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.
It is reassuring that President Marcos has maintained he will continue defending the Philippines’ territory, particularly its maritime domain, amid China’s incursions in the West Philippine Sea.
It is also comforting that Czech President Petr Pavel, while President Marcos was in Prague, expressed his support for the Philippines’ rights to freedom of navigation and trade.
“We fully support the Philippines when it comes to their entitlement to free movement of goods because that’s a principle – not only we all respect but it also secures global and regional stability,” Patel said during a joint news conference with President Marcos.
Many will be seating on the edge of their seats next week.