The Philippines and China have figured in a series of increasingly tense confrontations in the WPS over the past years.
FROM China with love? Philippine Coast Guard personnel secure suspected rocket debris recovered along the shoreline of Barangay Babuyan Claro in Calayan, Cagayan, after residents reported the object washed ashore.
PHOTOGRAPH courtesy of pcg
Australia joined the Philippines in condemning China’s increasingly aggressive actions in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), as Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Friday defended the government’s policy on the disputed waters and warned that public officials who reject it should challenge it before the Supreme Court rather than ignore it while remaining in office.
During the third Philippines-Australia Defense Ministers’ Meeting in Darwin on 7 August, Teodoro and Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles expressed serious concern over what they described as dangerous and destabilizing actions by Chinese vessels against Philippine ships, the Department of National Defense (DND) said.
The two officials cited recent China Coast Guard actions at Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal that injured Philippine Navy personnel and denounced aggressive tactics, including water-cannon attacks and ramming incidents, warning that such actions increase the risk of escalation and miscalculation.
Teodoro and Marles noted that 2026 marks the 10th anniversary of the landmark 2016 Arbitral Award under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
They underscored the importance of freedom of navigation, overflight and other lawful uses of the sea consistent with UNCLOS and reiterated that maritime disputes must be resolved peacefully in accordance with international law.
Support or sue
Separately, Teodoro defended Administrative Order 29, issued by then-President Benigno Aquino III in 2012, which institutionalized the use of the term “West Philippine Sea” for the country’s maritime areas on its western seaboard.
He said government officials who disagree with the policy should seek its nullification before the Supreme Court instead of refusing to recognize it while remaining in government.
The Defense chief was responding to criticism, including from Vice President Sara Duterte, who challenged him to identify officials he had previously described as “pro-China.”
Teodoro clarified that his earlier remarks referred to officials who not only oppose Administrative Order 29 but also refuse to recognize it despite being bound by their oath to implement existing government policies unless these are struck down by the courts.
“The standard is simple: who not only opposes Administrative Order 29, but also refuses to recognize it — both elements being necessary, especially in light of our recent filing of nautical charts for Bajo de Masinloc and Panatag,” he said.
Teodoro added that the DND does not brand Filipinos based on beliefs or opinions.
Flashpoint
“In the same way that red-tagging and other ad hoc practices are not employed by this organization, tagging Filipinos based on belief rather than covert or overt acts is not done by the Defense Department,” he said.
The Philippines and China have figured in a series of increasingly tense confrontations in the WPS over the past years.
China Coast Guard and Chinese maritime militia vessels have used water cannons, dangerous blocking maneuvers and collisions against Philippine resupply and patrol missions, particularly near Ayungin Shoal and Bajo de Masinloc.
The 2016 Arbitral Award invalidated China’s expansive “nine-dash line” claim and affirmed that maritime features within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone do not generate maritime entitlements for Beijing.
Although the ruling is legally binding under UNCLOS, China has consistently rejected it, while the Philippines continues to invoke it as the legal basis for asserting its sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea.
