Senior military officials and security experts warned Friday that the Philippines is already facing a “political and informational war” tied to the West Philippine Sea dispute as the landmark 2016 arbitral ruling approaches its 10th anniversary.

During a forum organized by Stratbase Institute and Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, officials stressed that the country’s defense modernization efforts must expand beyond traditional weapons systems to include cyber defense, intelligence, strategic communications, and cognitive warfare capabilities.

Romeo Brawner Jr., through acting Deputy Chief of Staff Arvin Lagamon, said the Philippines must recognize that conflict is already ongoing in non-kinetic forms.

“We are already at war. Not yet a kinetic war, but the political war, the economic war, and more importantly, the cyber and informational war is already going on,” Lagamon said.

He pointed to what he described as China’s “daily illegal, coercive, aggressive, deceptive, destructive, and bullying” activities in the West Philippine Sea, including the use of “sharp power” and foreign influence operations.

Victor Andres Manhit said the country continues to face “asymmetric gray zone challenges” ranging from water cannon incidents and dangerous air maneuvers to online disinformation campaigns.

“We need to transition from asserting our rights to defending our rights,” Manhit said, urging the government to adopt a long-term defense strategy that can withstand political transitions.

Meanwhile, Andreas Pfaffernoschke emphasized the importance of international defense cooperation and expressed hope for future negotiations on a visiting forces agreement between Germany and the Philippines.

Former AFP chief Emmanuel Bautista said modernization efforts must be matched by political will, warning that military capability alone is insufficient without the resolve to defend national rights.

For his part, Roy Trinidad warned that public perception itself has become a battlefield.

“The modern battlefield is the mindset of the Filipino people,” Trinidad said. “We need to protect the cognitive domain of the Filipino people.”