South China Sea: Marcos says he won’t allow Philippines’ rights to be trampled upon

The president-elect’s remarks were welcomed by observers who have been critical of Manila’s less aggressive approach towards the dispute since Duterte’s pivot towards China

Marcos told reporters he had discussed with Xi the need to work through ‘conflicting terms’ in the dispute, but a statement by Beijing about the phone call did not mention those details

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A pre-election survey showed 82 per cent of Filipinos believed the Philippines should assert its rights in the South China Sea. File photo: AP

Published: 8:30am, 1 Jun 2022Updated: 12:33pm, 1 Jun 2022

Philippine President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jnr this week gave the first indication of his incoming administration’s stance on the South China Sea after vowing he would champion the country’s interests in the disputed waterway, in statements welcomed by analysts.

Marcos made the surprise remarks on May 26 when he told a select group of TV stations that he would use the 2016 UN arbitral ruling to assert “our territorial right” against Beijing’s sweeping claims in the South China Sea.

“Our sovereignty is sacred and we will not compromise it in any way. We will not allow a single square millimetre of our maritime coastal … rights to be trampled upon,” he said, adding that he would pursue the issue through diplomacy “consistently with a firm voice”.

The Philippines’ policy towards the South China Sea has become less aggressive over the last few years under the Duterte administration. Photo: Kyodo

His views were an about-turn from what he said before the polls, when he suggested there was no point in supporting the tribunal win if China kept disregarding the ruling.

Nevertheless, the remarks were welcomed by observers who have been critical of Manila’s less aggressive approach towards the dispute since President Rodrigo Duterte embarked on a diplomatic pivot towards China over the past few years.

During a forum on maritime security on Tuesday, De la Salle University International Studies Professor Renato de Castro noted that Marcos had come out with “a very important foreign policy announcement” even before taking his presidential oath on June 30.

While De Castro acknowledged foreign policy pronouncements by politicians may not always be acted upon, he said what Marcos did was a marked departure from Duterte, who had never come out with any concrete strategies apart from saying he would set out an “independent foreign policy”.