Nine years ago, during the debate for the Philippine national elections held by the Commission on Elections, presidential candidates were asked a serious question about what they could do for the fishermen so they could peacefully fish in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) without being driven away by the Chinese Coast Guard. One of the candidates, named Rodrigo Duterte, confidently answered the question:
I will go to China. Now, if they don’t want, then I will ask the Navy to bring me to the nearest boundary in the Spratlys, in the Scarborough. I will go down, ride a jet ski, holding a Philippine flag, and I will go to their airport and plant it there.
The eager spectators clapped, chanted his name, and supported the firm position of Duterte because who would not? A presidential candidate brings a positive outlook on the possibility of winning an international arbitration, and that candidate will strongly assert the sovereignty of the Philippines with a tour de force. More so, he responded to a question from a fisherman who had experienced harassment from the Chinese Coast Guard. Yet, Filipinos then and again had selective amnesia that it was an election period– the period for political swindlers.
By June 2016, Duterte took his oath, and by July 2016, the Philippines had indeed won the Hague Arbitral ruling against the illegality of China’s nine-dash-line claim. China has also rejected the ruling, which means the condition was met that “if they [China] don’t want” to submit, President Duterte would do the jet ski stunt.
However, during the seven years that Duterte sat as the President, he never walked his talk, nor did he attempt to visit the WPS himself during his term. He made a complete turnaround, calling the 2016 Hague ruling a mere paper that he would throw in the wastebasket. He would later refer to his jet ski rant as bravado for campaign jokes and call those who believed his words “stupid”.
Whether it was bravado or populist rhetoric to fuel his ambitious dream of becoming a hero, it is crystal clear that many Filipinos believed that he would advance the interests of Filipino fishermen shooed from their own territory. In 2022, the Duterte Administration ended, and the jetski rant became a laughing stock.
In 2022, the Marcos Jr. administration came, prejudged to be similar to the Duterte administration, but instead reversed Duterte’s pivot to China policy. At first, the Philippines-China relationship was warmer, but in its three years of existence, the Marcos administration has consistently and vocally maintained the integrity of Philippine territory over China’s illegal and aggressive claims. The government has clearly shown a harder stance and exertion on Philippine territory and sovereignty over the WPS by internationalizing the issue, which Chinese-style diplomacy hates.
But something is also lacking domestically and politically in the Philippines as far as the WPS is concerned: the believers of WPS non-existence, pro-China propagandists, and some belligerents who used to support Duterte’s negative stance on the WPS. They strive to promote the perception that the WPS is non-existent, that China’s current aggression is to be faulted on the administration, that it was just a war between the United States and China, and of all sorts of divisive propaganda that blur the real issue on Philippine legal territory. This adds up to the challenge of promoting a unified stance among the Filipinos over the WPS.
Now, election day is approaching, and Filipinos are highly dramatic about their politics. Should I have the leverage to advise President Marcos, it is high time for him to go to the WPS, ride a jet ski, and plant the Philippine flag in one of the WPS islands. This is to communicate to the Filipino people and international community that he fulfilled the blank publicity stunt that Filipinos have looked forward to for years. It is worth noting that recently, the WPS was officially identified in Google Maps, depicting the recognition of Philippine waters. It overwhelmingly gained public support. In the following months or years, all other maps will adopt that WPS label, and Filipinos need a symbol that stands for that change.
Should China react apoplectically about this move, as already expected, the rewarding part is the president’s political communication, which may arouse Filipino flag-waving while leveraging political support for the upcoming elections and State of the Nation Address. Should China attempt to remove or replace the flag, its protection and maintenance will distinguish the Marcos administration from previous administrations for having the real stunt of protecting the Philippine seas.
[Photo by pbbm.com.ph, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons]
Kyle Dane Ballogan is a political scientist based in the Philippines. His commentaries and research interest focuses on international relations, statecraft, and international law, with a minor reference to grand strategy, defense, and political warfare. The views expressed in this article are those of the author.
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