BRP Sierra Madre (PNA file photo)
MANILA – The Philippines should continue working and engaging with like-minded states in addressing its concerns in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) in the coming year.
In a forum titled Fostering Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific Towards 2024 on Tuesday, Stratbase ADR Institute president Victor Andres "Dindo" Manhit said the Philippines has gained this year continued support from like-minded states for its arbitral victory and vowed to stand with the country in defending the rules-based international order.
“In addition to the enormous support of Filipinos in the WPS issue, the international community is an advocate of promoting peace and stability in the region… Our united front allows us to remain firm against aggressive and coercive acts disrupting our peace,” Manhit said.
“As we close 2023, the Philippines should be in a better position to confront the risks in the WPS by building on its capabilities and ironing out interoperability with like-minded states. In the same manner, it should continue to involve the public and expose the coercive tactics employed by aggressive states,” he said.
Manhit said the country became a focal point of geopolitical tensions in the Indo-Pacific this year, as China continued to conduct "gray zone" operations in key areas of the WPS.
Security experts define gray zone operations as "tactics using non-military means – below the threshold of armed conflict – to achieve political objectives."
These include the intimidation of civilian Filipino fishing vessels, conducting a series of water cannon incidents, damaging coral reefs, and spreading disinformation among others.
Amid Beijing's aggressive and coercive actions, Manhit believes that Manila's strategy of raising awareness on these issues proved effective.
“By allowing the public sharing of once-sensitive information, the government has increased Filipino awareness of the situation in the WPS. Our annual public opinion surveys indicate that Filipinos are supportive of our arbitral victory,” he said. (PNA)
