Just over a month after the official visit of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to China in early January, the Philippines and China figured in another diplomatic tension following the incident involving two vessels of the two Asian countries near the Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea.
The Chinese coast guard’s laser beam attack on the Philippine Coast Guard vessel could be interpreted as Beijing’s displeasure with the recent announcement of the United States-Philippine plan to accelerate the full implementation of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca), with the deal to designate four new agreed locations in strategic areas of the country and the completion of projects at the five existing locations in the country.
The addition of four locations will bring the number of Edca sites in the country to nine, and the plan is to put up all these Edca sites on locations facing the West Philippine Sea, the Philippine name of a portion of the South China Sea that is within its Exclusive Economic Zone. The Edca is a key pillar of the US-Philippine Alliance that supports combined training, exercises, and interoperability between the two countries’ forces, according to the US Embassy.
The Edca announcement could be seen as the Philippines’ explicit expression of loyalty to the US—its traditional ally, and a move away from former President Rodrigo Duterte’s self-proclaimed pivot to China.
The meeting between President Marcos and China President Xi Jinping last January apparently did not bring an immediate easing of tensions in the West Philippine Sea as Beijing continues to claim most of it as part of its territory.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has filed another diplomatic protest against China over the laser beam attack. It must continue filing a diplomatic protest over every deplorable action by China in the West Philippine Sea because doing so is the Philippines’ way of telling Beijing to respect its sovereignty.
If China makes questionable moves in the West Philippine Sea, the DFA must file another diplomatic protest—the underdog’s ultimate weapon against the Asian goliath because filing it is akin to a shame campaign.
For China to gain respect from Filipinos, it must also respect the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands that invalidates China’s claims over the 90 percent of the disputed West Philippine Sea.
President Marcos has met with the Chinese ambassador, and Filipinos can only hope that it would prevent maritime incidents in the West Philippine Sea.
If Beijing continues its aggressive attitude in the Asia-Pacific, it could further weaken the fragile peace in the region.
Beijing must think beyond itself and its interests. Respecting international law and its neighboring countries is a way of promoting stability in the world.