ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Navy OIC reaffirms PH commitment to South China Sea conduct in Japan symposium

Navy OIC reaffirms PH commitment to South China Sea conduct in Japan symposium

Published Nov 11, 2022 04:20 pm

The Philippines remains committed to the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (SCS) despite recent developments showing China’s build-up in several artificial islands in the highly volatile waters.

Rear Adm. Caesar Bernard Valencia, acting Flag Officer in Command of Philippine Navy (PN), attends the Western Pacific Naval Symposium in Yokohama, Japan from Nov. 5 to 10, 2022. (Photo by PN)

Rear Adm. Caesar Bernard Valencia, acting Flag Officer in Command (AFOIC) of the Philippine Navy (PN), led the Philippine delegation who attended the 18th Western Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS) in Yokohama, Japan from Nov. 5 to 10.

“In line with the sub-theme ‘Peace and Stability,’ AFOIC Valencia presented the mechanisms for fostering deeper and more lasting ties among the WPNS members,” Commander Benjo Negranza, PN spokesperson, said Friday, Nov. 11.

Among these mechanisms, Negranza stressed, was the Philippines’ reaffirmation of its commitment to the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, a political document signed by China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2002 which establishes the basic principles and common norms for all parties to handle the SCS issue.

This, despite the recent revelation of China’s reclamation works on Panganiban (Mischief) Reef, Kagitingan (Fiery Cross) Reef, Calderon (Cuarteron) Reef, Zamora (Sui) Reef, Burgos (Gaven) Reefs, and McKennan (Hughes) Reef in Spratly Islands or Kalayaan Island Group.

Photos showing fully developed airfields, buildings, recreational facilities and other structures in China’s artificial islands were taken and uploaded by Filipino photographer Ezra Acayan last Oct. 25 for media website Getty Images.

According to Valencia, all parties to the SCS should adhere to international law conventions and upholding of an open and rules-based order of the seas and oceans.

He added that they should translate “confidence-building mechanisms into meaningful and practical cooperation.”

Meanwhile, attending Navy leaders and key staff also discussed cooperative initiatives and maritime matters of mutual interest during the six-day symposium. Among the activities during the event were bilateral meetings, International Fleet Review, and strategic-level discussion of chiefs of navies.

The WPNS is a biennial multilateral engagement that began in 1998 to establish a forum where leaders of regional navies could meet to discuss cooperative initiatives.

This year’s symposium was hosted by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) and carried the theme “Free and Open Oceans: Cooperative Efforts for the Next Generation.”

It was attended by 20 WPNS members namely Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Fiji, France, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand, United States of America, and Vietnam. Representatives from six observer nations also attended namely Bangladesh, Colombia, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and United Kingdom.

Related Tags

11112022 WNPS declaration of conduct Philippines navy South China Sea
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.