After China’s 10-dash line map, Marcos says global support a ‘big help’ in asserting West PH Sea claims

Following Beijing’s release of a new map showing its expanded claims in the South China Sea, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday underscored the importance of other nations backing the Philippines in the territorial dispute.

Marcos said global support is “a very big help” to Manila, as it continues to defend its sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea. He made the statement when asked by the media if the government plans to upscale its strategies in the area.

“We have stayed true to the rules-based international law, especially the UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea),” Marcos said after an event in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.

“That, I think, puts us on very solid ground in terms of our claims for territorial sovereignty, for maritime territory. And this has been validated and supported by many, many countries around the world, and we should take strength in that,” he continued.

The president also briefly addressed China’s new version of its national map, which the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) described as the East Asian power’s latest attempt “to legitimize [its] purported sovereignty and jurisdiction over Philippine features and maritime zones.”

“We received the news that now the nine-dash line has been extended to the 10-dash line,” Marcos said. “We have to respond to all of these, and we will. But again, these are operational details that I would prefer not to talk about.”

DFA Assistant Secretary Daniel Espiritu on Thursday said Manila has already filed a diplomatic protest over the issue.

Meanwhile, Marcos added that his administration will continue to assert the country’s claims in the contested waters.

“Of course, we’ll continue to defend our territorial sovereignty, our territorial rights. We have not changed our approach. It is other countries around us that have changed their approach,” he said.

During the Thursday media briefing on the president’s attendance to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Indonesia next week, Espiritu said Manila will push for a statement on Beijing’s behavior in the West Philippine Sea, including the recent incidents on Ayungin Shoal, such as the latter’s use of water cannons on Philippine boats.