The Philippines has rejected China’s claim that it is being used as “pawn” by the United States and is not letting Beijing’s actions in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) go unchallenged. 

Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Enrique Manalo on Friday, May 8, said in a speech delivered for him by DFA Asec. Marshall Louis Alferez that there are “some that want to project the WPS as a matter between great powers,” and that the Philippines is just one of the “pawns in this game.”

Manalo stood cited two reasons for refuting this notion. 

Manalo said making such a pronouncement is only “a simplistic way of explaining a complex issue,” which he said is “designed to manipulate people into being disengaged.”

He also said that the Philippines is “not (a) bystander (in this) situation” as it needs “to act to protect our interests and we need to act as cohesively as possible – by rejecting counternarratives that seek to distract us from our objectives.”

The country’s top diplomat also lamented the narrative that has surrounded the West Philippine Sea issue “for far too long.”

He said the narrative is being “obscured by misinformation and manipulation,” and sow discord among various nations and peoples.

The Philippines has been asserting its rights over the West Philippine Sea, which is affirmed by the 2016 Arbitral Ruling and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

But China continues to oppose the Philippines as it asserts its claim over the whole South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea, on the basis the so-called nine-dash line concept that was rejected by the arbitral tribunal. 

Manalo said the Philippines “must expose the illegality of the nine-dash line that is being used as the basis for threatening the livelihoods of our fishermen through harassment and intimidation, and for reclamation activities that degrade the environment in these vital waters.”

“We should not allow ourselves to be painted as the aggressors or the violators,” he said, adding that the country’s role in doing so is “firm.”

“We stand firm on the foundation of international law… We categorically reject the excessive claims and aggressive actions by the People’s Republic of China in the WPS,” he said in a speech delivered during a strategic communication workshop by the Merchant Marine Academy.

Manalo said China’s claim stands “in stark opposition to the rule of law and the very principles that ensure peace and stability in our region.”

“We need to defend the international law of the sea, and a rules-based order that fosters peace and prosperity for all nations,” he added.