South China Sea: Philippines’ Marcos Jnr calls for ‘paradigm shift’ in diplomacy with Beijing

Name: Philippines sets up ‘game changer’ monitoring station on island in disputed South China Sea
Uploaded: 2023-12-19T05:33:15.000Z
Duration: 4 min 30 s
Description: Philippines sets up ‘game changer’ monitoring station on island in disputed South China Sea

The Philippine president, citing ‘very little progress’, said traditional diplomatic efforts on the disputed waterway were being disregarded by China

He added that his government will continue talking to partners and come up with a joint position stating their responsibilities on the sea

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Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr attends a press conference in Tokyo on Monday. Photo: Kyodo

Reuters

Published: 1:33pm, 19 Dec 2023Updated: 3:38pm, 19 Dec 2023

Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr said a “paradigm shift” was needed in how his country approaches the South China Sea issue, as diplomatic efforts with Beijing were headed “in a poor direction”.

In an interview with Japan’s Mainichi newspaper on December 16, parts of which were shared with Philippine media on Monday, Marcos Jnr said traditional diplomatic efforts were being disregarded by China, according to a presidential palace release.

“To this point, we have resorted to the traditional methods of diplomacy … but we have been doing this for many years now, with very little progress,” said Marcos Jnr, who was in Japan for Tokyo’s commemorative summit with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

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Philippines sets up ‘game changer’ monitoring station on island in disputed South China Sea

“It’s time that the countries that feel that they have an involvement in this situation, we have to come up with a paradigm shift,” Marcos Jnr said, while reiterating the Philippines wants to avoid violent conflict.

He added that his government will continue talking to its partners and come up with a joint position stating their responsibilities as far as the West Philippine Sea is concerned.

The Philippines refers to the part of South China Sea within its exclusive economic zone as the West Philippine Sea.

China and the Philippines have been locked in an escalating territorial dispute in the South China Sea. The Philippines has filed diplomatic protests, summoned China’s envoy after increasingly tense encounters and called out China’s coastguard.