There is a need to institutionalize government initiatives to deter China's actions in the West Philippine Sea, as assertive transparency has been proven effective in countering the latter's supposed misinformation and activities in the waters, security experts have said.

Among those who made the suggestion was retired US Col. Raymond Powell, who is also the founder of security think tank Project Sealight, who believed that "maximum transparency brings maximum accountability."

During a forum that tackled disinformation in the West Philippine Sea organized by Stratbase Institute, Powell said that "if you turn on the lights in the gray zone, all of a sudden, the 'cockroaches' scatter."

Experts have since described China's aggression and incursive activities in the whole of South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea, as "gray zone operations," or activities that fall short of being called as war.

"The importance of institutionalizing transparency—to write it down and disseminate so that everybody will fully understand it," Powell said.

Benjamin Goirigolzarri, team member of Project Myoush of Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, shared the same sentiment.

Goirigolzarri said that "assertive transparency shifts the calculus on grey zone aggression" and that "it has the impression to impose really steep international reputational cost to the bad actors."

One of the ways the Philippines could do that is to commit to the use of free press, which he said could offer "a really compelling narrative in the face of Chinese misinformation."

And that's what the government is currently doing, he noted.

"So, now, Philippine vessels are armed with journalists ready to document run-ins with the Chinese militia to put on display to the world the bullying that Chinese are doing in the South China Sea," Goirigolzarri said.

In a paper published by Stratbase Institute, Powell and Gorigolzarri made a comprehensive analysis on the government's assertive transparency initiative, which involves "seeking out and exposing Chinese maritime aggression for the world to see."

Both experts noted that the transparency initiative "enables ordinary citizens to viscerally experience the full measure of gray zone aggression, which gives the government increased political latitude to take the hard steps required to push back."

For Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela, what Powell and Gorigolzarri said has already been proven true.

"Our efforts to publicize compelling videos and images that truthfully document Chinese illegal actions in the West Philippine Sea, have garnered international attention and condemnation," Tarriela, who is staunchly fighting China's illegal activities in the Philippine waters, said.

"More countries now are expressing their criticism and standing in solidarity with Manila against Beijing’s bullying behavior and blatant disregard for international law," he added.

Noting that China is also supposedly using social media platforms and relying on "trolls" to spread fake news and disinformation to support their false narrative, the Philippines' transparency initiative is now "strategic because it does not require us to just be assertive in telling the truth or to withhold the portion of truth in order to be measured."

"Instead, it is strategic because it is designed to achieve a grand objective in pursuit of our national security and interest," he said.