“A change in vocabulary does not equate to a change in legality”
THE landscape of modern geopolitics is increasingly defined by the manipulation of language.
Today, we are witnessing a calculated attempt by China to cloak its illegal control of Scarborough Shoal in the soft, virtuous language of environmentalism.
However, a change in vocabulary does not equate to a change in legality.
Conservation cannot erase international law, and polished narratives cannot displace the sovereign rights of the Philippines.
The Costume of Conservation
Chinese state-linked outlets have synchronized a campaign to portray Beijing as the “responsible steward” of Scarborough Shoal.
In this manufactured reality, Filipino fishermen—who have frequented these waters for generations—are recast as ecological threats.
This is not a scientific endeavor; it is a tactical one.
By using measured, academic tones, the message seeks to normalize occupation and marginalize the Philippines.
This is not the first time power has tried to dress occupation in softer words. What has changed is the costume. Today, it is conservation.
Law Before Labels
We must return to the bedrock of facts: Scarborough Shoal lies within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone.
This is not an opinion; it is a matter of record affirmed by the 2016 Arbitral Ruling under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Environmental language does not overwrite legal reality.
You cannot “conserve” what you do not lawfully own, and you cannot accuse a nation of trespass in waters that belong to it by right.
To frame the Philippines as an ecological interloper in its own maritime zone inverts both law and logic.
The Erasure of History
Long before patrol vessels or policy briefings existed, Filipino fishermen were working these waters.
Their presence is historical, not incidental.
They did not arrive at Scarborough as violators; they arrived as sons of the sea, continuing a livelihood older than any modern claim.
Casting them as illegal actors is an attempt to erase lived history and recast tradition as transgression.
Furthermore, China’s own reports contain a glaring contradiction: they assert that the reef ecosystem remains generally healthy.
If the reef is indeed healthy, the accusation of Filipino “destruction” falls apart.
If it is not, any fair assessment must reckon with years of Chinese blockades, the presence of massive coast guard vessels, and the disruption of traditional balances.
The Palawan Fiction
The recent, baseless suggestions that Palawan is somehow subject to Chinese ownership represent a new low in historical revisionism.
Palawan has never been Chinese territory—not by history, not by treaty, and not by law. It is an integral part of the Philippine archipelago, recognized globally and administered continuously by Manila.
When falsehoods grow more expansive, they also grow more desperate.
Palawan is not disputed, not negotiable, and not up for revision.
Allowing such distortions to go unanswered would normalize the unacceptable.
Clarity, in this case, is a duty.
Institutional Resolve
The Philippines has met these challenges with steadiness rather than spectacle.
Under the leadership of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., the nation has anchored its response in law and alliance-building.
The Philippine Coast Guard remains on the front lines, documenting incidents with professional restraint, while the Department of National Defense, led by Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, has rejected fabricated claims with absolute clarity.
This is not posturing; it is governance.
A Steady and Lawful Resolve
Patriotism today does not require raised voices; it requires discipline and confidence in the law.
Sovereignty is not decided by who publishes the most reports or who crafts the most elaborate environmental narratives.
It is decided by law, history, and the dignity of a people who refuse to be written out of their own seas.
On that foundation, the Philippines remains steady, lawful, and unyielding.
(The author, who holds a master’s in national security administration and a doctorate in philosophy, is the Chairman Emeritus of Alyansa ng Bantay sa Kapayapaan at Demokrasya, Peoples Alliance for Democracy and Reforms, Liga Independencia Pilipinas and Filipinos Do Not Yield Movement.)
