Philippines objects to China consul's 'misrepresentation' on arbitration ruling

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has chided a Chinese consul for allegedly “misrepresenting facts” in the 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidated China’s massive claims in the South China Sea.

China’s Consul General to Cebu Zhang Zhen has been quoted as saying at a Feb. 8 press conference in Iloilo City, that the ruling of the arbitral tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands was “illegal, null, and void” and that China “has and will never accept it.”

“We note the statement made by the Chinese Consul General last 08 February 2024. We take serious exception to China’s continued misrepresentation of the law and the facts,” a DFA statement said.

The 2016 ruling upheld Philippine sovereign rights in its Exclusive Economic Zone under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea or UNCLOS and declared as illegal China’s expansive territorial claims in the disputed waters. The DFA said China should respect the tribunal’s  decision.

“The Philippines and China are both parties to UNCLOS. We have and will consistently call on China to act responsibly and abide by its obligations under UNCLOS and the final and binding 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea,” the DFA said.

GMA News Online has sought a comment from the Chinese Embassy and will publish it as soon as it becomes available.

A major newspaper in Western Visayas carried the report and said Zhen provided the outlet with a 41-page press briefer outlining China’s legal and historical evidence on the strategic and resource-rich waters “to get to the root of the issue and set the record straight.”

Security experts at a forum on Tuesday warned against China’s alleged “escalating” efforts to engage in propaganda and misinformation on the South China Sea issue by tapping personalities from the media and academe to spread pro-Chinese narrative.  

Tackling disinformation in the West Philippine Sea organized by the Stratbase Institute, experts called on the Philippine government to maintain its assertive transparency strategy to expose Chinese aggressive actions in the South China Sea.

Retired US Colonel Raymond Powell, founder of the security think tank Project Sealight, said institutionalizing transparency is crucial and must be disseminated “so that everybody will fully understand it.”

“Maximum transparency brings maximum accountability,” he said.

Dr. Benjamin Goirigolzarri of the Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation lauded the Philippines’ policy of embedding Filipino media in patrols and resupply missions to military outposts in the West Philippine Sea.

“So, now, Philippine vessels are armed with journalists ready to document run-ins with the Chinese militia to put on display to the world the bullying that Chinese are doing in the South China Sea,” Goirigolzarri said.

“Assertive transparency shifts the calculus on grey zone aggression. It has the impression to impose really steep international reputational cost to the bad actors,” he added.

Powell and Goirigolzarri said that the transparency initiative “enables ordinary citizens to viscerally experience the full measure of gray zone aggression, which gives the government increased political latitude to take the hard steps required to push back.”

Philippine Coast Guard spokesman for the West Philippine Sea Jay Tarriela said its efforts to publicize compelling videos and images documenting Chinese illegal actions have been successful as these highlighted the real situation in the area.

“More countries now are expressing their criticism and standing in solidarity with Manila against Beijing’s bullying behavior and blatant disregard for international law,” Tarriela said.

The Philippine government, he added, will continue its transparency strategy despite an agreement between Manila and Beijing last month to deescalate tensions in the waters.

Tarriela has expressed deep concern on China's use of social media platforms, saying they “rely on their trolls to spread fake news and disinformation to support their false narrative.”

“In the cyber-information space, they aim to sow discord, disunity and confusion among the Filipino people,” he said.

Stratbase Institute president Dindo Manhit said the Philippines’ assertive transparency campaign helps reaffirm the country’s rightful place within its own territory.

“China’s persistent claims over the West Philippine Sea remain inconsequential in altering the 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration,” Manhit said.

“Their aggressive actions will not grant them the support of the international community. Their swarming and blocking tactics, excessive island-building, destruction of the marine environment, and water cannon tactics cannot overturn the established and well-respected international law.” —NB/KG, GMA Integrated News