WPS tension at an all-time high

Relations between the Philippines and China had a positive start in 2023 following the visit of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to Beijing in January — his first official trip abroad for the year.

In Beijing, Marcos and his counterpart, Chinese President Xi Jinping, agreed to set up a direct hotline between government agencies such as their respective departments of foreign affairs to address disputes.

The two leaders also agreed to build up trust and confidence between them despite their nations' overlapping claims in the West Philippine Sea, a portion of the larger South China Sea.

According to Marcos, Xi also promised that China would not bar Filipino fishermen from their natural and historical fishing grounds in the WPS.

Everything was going smoothly until 9 January, just one week after Marcos' state visit, when a China Coast Guard ship chased away a Filipino fishing boat from the waters off Ayungin Shoal.

According to the fishermen, the CCG ship continued to shadow them despite having altered their course away from Ayungin.

Ayungin Shoal, located 105 nautical miles west of Palawan, is within the Philippines' 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.

Marcos said the Philippines used the hotline for the first time to communicate with China about the incident, which violated both Philippine and international law, particularly the 1982 UNCLOS and the final and binding 2016 Arbitral Award.

Laser-pointing

On 6 February, a CCG vessel pointed a military-grade laser beam at a Philippine Coast Guard ship, which caused temporary blindness among its crew.

The incident happened during the PCG's resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal where a grounded Philippine vessel, the BRP Sierra Madre, serves as a permanent military outpost.

China belied the PCG's claim, saying the CCG vessel only used "hand-held equipment" that did not inflict any damage.

The following month, Malacañang bared the locations of four additional Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement sites with the United States, causing a further strain in Manila's relations with Beijing.

Of the four additional EDCA sites that American forces will have access to, three are situated in the northern part of the country, with the naval base in Santa Ana, Cagayan about 400 kilometers (250 miles) from Taiwan.