The Philippines should leverage its “legal and moral authority” in dealing with China’s aggression in the West Philippine Sea, according to a maritime security expert.
This photo taken on Feb. 16, 2024 shows Filipino fishermen aboard their wooden boats and Philippine Fisheries and Aquatic Resources personnel aboard their rigid hull inflatable boat sailing past a Chinese coast guard ship near the China-controlled Scarborough Shoal, in disputed waters of the South China Sea.MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines should leverage its “legal and moral authority” in dealing with China’s aggression in the West Philippine Sea , according to a maritime security expert.
“Where does the Philippines have strength? The Philippines has strength, first of all, in its legal standing on the international stage. It has the moral authority as being the clearly aggrieved party, which is recognized by almost any party who is not in Beijing,” he said. He recognized, however, the difficulty in gathering evidence to support the case, noting Chinese presence in areas where the destruction of marine resources is happening.
“Now there are, at any given time, a dozen around Scarborough Shoal. They have pushed past Ayungin Shoal and now are at Sabina Shoal – on a full time basis. There is always a ship there,” he said.The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is unlikely to support the Philippines in its dispute with China on the WPS, security analyst Chester Cabalza said Tuesday.
ASEAN is composed of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines. However, he said that while being left alone by the ASEAN, the Philippines remains strong in its claims on WPS because of its widening diplomatic network.
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