President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivers a speech during the 21st Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore on May 31, 2024. Nhac Nguyen, AFP 

MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. reiterated his administration’s commitment to uphold the Philippines’ sovereignty and protect its territory amid challenges in the West Philippine Sea.

“The life-giving waters of the West Philippine Sea flow in the blood of every Filipino. We will never allow anyone to detach it from the totality of the maritime domain that renders our nation whole,” Marcos said on his keynote speech at the the 21st International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. 

“As President, I have sworn to this solemn commitment from the very first day that I took office. I do not intend to yield. Filipinos do not yield,” he added.

Marcos also said the government will do its best to protect the Philippines’ legal territory, as provided by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and the 2016 Arbitral Award.

“The lines we draw on our waters are derived not from imagination, but from international law,” he said.

“In our solid legal footing and through our clear moral ascendancy, we find the strength to do whatever it takes to protect our sovereign home -- to the last square inch, to the last square millimeter,” Marcos added.

Marcos likewise reiterated that the Philippines’ definition of its territory is based on international law, and not through “baseless claims”.

“Accordingly, we made a conscious effort to align our definition of our territory and our maritime zones with what international law permits. This has been inscribed in Article 1 of our current constitution,” he said.

“Our efforts stand in stark contrast to assertive actions that aim to propagate excessive and baseless claims through force, intimidation, and deception,” Marcos added.

In UN General Assembly address, Marcos says rules-based international order important

Marcos reiterates won't abandon any square inch of PH territory

SEVEN REALITIES, THREE CONSTANTS

In his speech, Marcos also highlighted what he called as “seven realities” in the Indo-Pacific, which included multilateral cooperation, strategic competition between China and the US, the role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the region, geopolitics, climate change, regional security and technological advancements.

“These seven realities muddle the waters  
that we have to navigate in our  
collective journey as a community of nations. We cannot reverse course. We must persevere. We must pull through,” he said.

“The current juncture does not call for a revision of the regional order. Instead, it calls for a reaffirmation of the wisdom of San Francisco in 1945, of Bangkok in 1967, and of Manila in 1982,” Marcos added, referring to the creation of the United Nations in San Francisco in 1945, the creation of the ASEAN through the Bangkok Declaration in 1967, and the Manila Declaration of 1982.

For Marcos, there is a need to revisit these legal procedures to combat “misleading narratives”.

“Amidst misleading narratives that seek to discredit international legal procedures, there is a need to reaffirm that these modalities are an expression of good faith. They are a service to the progressive development and codification of international law. They are never an unfriendly act,” he said.

In order to face the current challenges, Marcos likewise reiterated “three constants” to guide the region, which include sovereign equality of states, ASEAN centrality, and the rule of law.

“These three constants guide our efforts to prepare ourselves for the challenges ahead. We need to begin by resoundingly rejecting misguided  interpretations that paint our region as a mere theater of geopolitical rivalries,” he said.

“We are not mere bystanders to unfolding world events. We are the actors that drive those events. We are the main characters in our collective story. We are the owners of the narratives of our regional community,” Marcos also said.

ROLE OF CHINA AND US

According to Marcos, both China and the US play a role in the stability of the region, and the two countries must “manage their rivalry in a responsible manner.”

“China’s determining influence over the security situation and the economic evolution of this region is permanent. At the same time, the stabilizing presence of America is crucial to regional peace. It is never a choice.  
Both countries are important,” he said.

“The continued stability of this region requires China and the United States to manage their rivalry in a responsible manner,” Marcos added.  

Marcos also mentioned how it is important for both China and the US to work towards nuclear disarmament in the region.

“It has become even more crucial for us to assert that the future of our region will be driven not by one or two powerful countries, but by all of us,” he said.

“Peace, security, and stability are the business of all countries. The interests and responsibilities of all states in the community of nations must always be acknowledged. All our voices must be equally heard,” Marcos added.

MULTILATERALISM

Lastly, Marcos highlighted the importance of multilateralism in the region, and for countries to find common ground.

“Beyond the regional horizon, we recognize the importance of upholding multilateralism. It remains the single viable platform for collective action against transcendent global challenges,” he said.

“We must therefore step back from the precipice of paralysis. We should transcend geopolitics, find common ground, and work to strengthen global institutions. This requires active leadership on the part of middle powers, which have the capacity to cross political and ideological lines, forge genuine consensus, and lead credible efforts towards decisive multilateral solutions,” Marcos added.

According to Marcos, it is important to safeguard the stability, security and peace of the region for its future.

“Geopolitics must not distract us from our fundamental duty as civil servants,  
as public intellectuals, as statesmen:  To deliver for our peoples, and to safeguard  
the future for the coming generations. This is the reason why we strive for stability, for security, and for peace,” he said.

“This, ladies and gentlemen, is our core purpose, our collective commitment, our calling. It is for this most noble of causes that we must come together to win the future for our region, and to make a better world,” Marcos added.

Marcos made history as the first Philippine president who delivered a keynote address before the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, which is the leading defense and security conference in the Asia-Pacific region, according to the Presidential Communications Office. 

Manila has been locked in a maritime dispute with Beijing amid the latter's incursions in the country's territorial waters in the South China Sea, which is believed to be rich in natural gas deposits.

China has ignored a 2016 decision by The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration that declared its historical claim to be without basis. 

Asia security forum to discuss South China Sea