Due to the maritime disputes among countries in the South China Sea (SCS), international law has been “significantly altered” to suit the interests of some nations.

This was the bold statement by Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Commandant, Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan on Monday, Sept. 30, as he urged different actors in the international arena to “go back to the rule of law”.

“The South China Sea exists now as a theater where international law, its application, its interpretation as an application, have been significantly altered. If it is altered, then the rest will follow,” Gavan said during the “Inaugural Balangay Forum: Safeguarding Philippine Maritime Interests”, a culminating activity for this year’s observance of the Maritime Archipelagic Nation Awareness Month (MANAMo), held in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

“Its impact, its implications will be far-reaching from diplomatic to information. That is the most significant impact I think of South China Sea to the rest of us, not only to the Philippines but to the whole law-abiding world,” he stressed.

Although Gavan did not name-drop any country, several nations have backed the Philippines’ position against China’s expansionist claims in the South China Sea.

“If we are to address it [alterations], we have to do everything we can to encourage countries to go back to the rule of law,” Gavan said.

General Romeo Brawner Jr., chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), said that the rest of the world has shifted its interest to the Indo-Pacific region because of recent tensions in the SCS.

“We know that recently, there has been a shift in interest from the European theater, from the other theaters in the world, to the Indo-Pacific region and this is because of the recent events that have happened which actually have a direct and indirect effect on other nations around the world,” he said.

China has tightened its grip in the SCS, a huge marginal sea which includes the West Philippine Sea (WPS) located within the 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Philippines.

A 2016 arbitral ruling invalidated China’s sweeping claims in the SCS in favor of the Philippines’ protest. However, the Asian superpower ignored the decision and continued to establish its presence in the troubled waters.

Chinese ships were accused of ramming Philippine vessels up to the point where a violent resupply mission in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal in June resulted to the dismembering of a thumb of a Philippine Navy sailor; blocking humanitarian missions to Philippine ships conducting routine patrols in WPS to drive them to extreme hunger and thirst; dropping flares to aircraft; and using water cannon to drive away Philippine ships and boats in areas they claim as their own among others.

China has repeatedly justified their actions as necessary countermeasures to protect its “territories”.

Economically, about 65 percent of the world’s economic trade passes through the SCS, according to Brawner. He, however, noted that the geopolitics and geo-economics in the SCS have also direct implication to the world’s security.

“Other nations and, in particular, we have seen a lot of interests from European countries because of that factor that affects their shores as well. It’s really very important that we pay particular attention to the region not just economically but also in terms of security,” he said.

Follow international law

Department of National Defense (DND) Sec. Gilberto Teodoro Jr. called on countries to settle maritime disputes and conflict in accordance with international law, in particular the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), an international treaty that establishes a legal framework governing all uses of the oceans and their resources.

“We all agree that we should settle disputes in accordance with UNCLOS, and not to recreate a narrative of what international law is, and use deceptive language, engage in spurious conduct, ‘sub rosa’ conduct, in order to subvert countries which stand up to them,” the defense chief said.

He also urged the national government to devote itself on raising awareness among the Filipinos about the importance of protecting the country’s maritime territory and resources – the foundation of which is its international law entitlements.

“Awareness of our people now is very high but that’s contained in a specific area of our maritime domain where there is friction with China, the West Philippine Sea. That’s only a small portion of our maritime domain,” he said.

“It will need a lot of convergence between the private sector, our government and our international partners to protect the other areas in a sustainable and legal way for the benefit of our future generations,” he added.