Respect international law in South China Sea, Philippine leader says after series of clashes

Efforts to resolve disputes in the South China Sea must be "anchored in international law", Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr said on Friday.

Marcos was speaking at the opening event of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore amid rising tensions with China following a series of confrontations in the disputed waters around the Scarborough Shoal and Second Thomas Shoal.

Recently there have been collisions between coastguard vessels from the two countries while China has used water cannon against Philippine vessels.

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In his speech, Marcos stressed the importance of upholding international law in asserting Manila's claims in the South China Sea and referred to a "binding" 2016 international tribunal ruling that rejected Beijing's territorial claims.

He said Manila is on the "front lines of efforts to assert the integrity of the rules as a constitution of the oceans" in the South China Sea.

"We will find the strength to do whatever it takes to protect our sovereign home to the last square inch, to the last square millimetre," he added.

"The life-giving waters of the West Philippine Sea flow in the blood of every Filipino. We cannot allow anyone to detach from the totality of the maritime domain that renders our nation's home."

He also said: "Any effort to resolve maritime differences in the East China Sea and the South China Sea must be anchored in international law, particularly we must ... respect legally settled rights.

"We cannot afford any other future for the South China Sea other than the one envisioned by us on the sea of peace, stability, and prosperity. Unfortunately, this vision remains for now, a distant reality. Illegal coercive, aggressive and deceptive actions continue to violate our sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdictions."

An international tribunal dismissed China's territorial and maritime claims to the South China Sea in 2016 as having no legal basis, but Beijing rejected the ruling and continued to build outposts on islands and atolls that it controls.

Without specifically referring to China, Marcos also warned that countries that tried to apply their domestic laws outside their territorial jurisdiction, "violate international law, exacerbate tensions and undermine regional peace and security".

He also said the Philippines had tried to resolve maritime disputes legally in "stark contrast" to attempts to "propagate excessive and baseless claims through force, intimidation, and deception".

Responding to questions after his speech, Marcos alluded to the recent clashes with Chinese ships, warning that the death of any Philippine coastguards "will be very close to what we define as an act of war".

"We already have suffered injuries, but thank God, we have not yet gotten to the point of any civilian ... being killed, but once we get to that point, it certainly would cross the Rubicon River, is that a red line? Almost certainly it's going to be a red line."

Marcos has taken a tougher approach towards China in the South China Sea since taking office two years ago.

The country has moved to strengthen its military relations with the US by stepping up joint exercises and holding its first three-way drills with Japan and America.

He said Manila rejects "any attempt to deny strategic agencies, especially by force that seek to subordinate our interests to anyone else's".

China claims most of the South China Sea, a resource-rich waterway, but the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei have overlapping claims.

While the US does not have any territorial claims in the disputed waters, it is committed to upholding freedom of navigation in the South China Sea and supporting its southeast Asian allies, such as the Philippines.

Marcos said the "stabilising presence of the United States is crucial to regional peace" but rejected the idea that his country had to make a choice between America and China, adding that both countries had to "manage [their] rivalry in a responsible manner".

Speaking at a presser held after Marcos's speech, Lieutenant General He Lei of the PLA blamed Manila for creating more trouble in the South China Sea.

He said while he agreed with some of the Philippine president's views, he harboured "doubts and opposition to his points".

The Chinese lieutenant general accused the Philippine government of being provocative, saying disputes and incidents in the contested waters had become more frequent since Marcos took office.

He also said Manila had strengthened its military alliance with the US as he called on "countries outside the region" to stop interfering in the South China Sea issue.

Commenting on the "red line" raised by Macros, the lieutenant general described the scenario as "hypothetical".

"If the death of one person in a conflict can trigger a war, then I think it is too easy for a country to start a war," he said.

The three-day conference in Singapore also included a meeting between Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun and his US counterpart Lloyd Austin.

Beijing described the meeting as "positive, practical and constructive". The pair discussed major flashpoints including the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait.

Additional reporting by Amber Wang in Singapore

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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