West PH Sea operations ‘business as usual’ despite Marcos’ milder tone – AFP

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MANILA, Philippines — Military operations in the West Philippine Sea remain “business as usual” despite President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s milder tone on the maritime dispute with China, a military spokesperson said Tuesday.

In his fourth State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Monday, Marcos only reiterated that his administration maintains an independent foreign policy, emphasizing that the country remains “a friend to all and an enemy to none.”

Marcos did not mention the term “West Philippine Sea” for the entirety of his speech, which lasted one hour and eleven minutes.

READ: Over 100 applause and a standing ovation greet Marcos 4th Sona

Despite this, military spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said: “It will still be business as usual for us in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in terms of how we will be safeguarding our mandate of guarding our sovereignty.”

Padilla also noted that Marcos also laid out his guidance on the West Philippine Sea during the midyear command conference this month.

“The guidance of the President is very clear for the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” Padilla said.

READ: Marcos: West Philippine Sea not an imagination, it will always be ours

For security expert Chester Cabalza, Marcos’ “calculated” tone in his Sona regarding the may be in line with the country’s preparation with its chairmanship in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) next year.

“We should view it in a balanced way because we don’t want to antagonize China right now,” Cabalza said in an online interview with reporters.

“Once when we become the host of Asean summit next year, we know that China will make noise, it’s better to be rational and logical once we become the host,”

Cabalza noted that the Asean Member States and China are currently engaged in negotiations of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea which commenced in March 2018.

According to Cabalza, it is likely negotiations may not be finished throughout the chairmanship of Malaysia, which will end in a few months.

“The burden is on us on how we can push the code of conduct by next year,” Cabalza said. “One of the biggest actors in the finalization of the code of conduct is China.”

Apart from China and the Philippines, Asean member states such as Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam are also claimants of Spratly Islands inside the South China Sea.

Maritime features of Spratly under Philippine control Philippines are being referred to as the Kalayaan Island Group.

China asserts sovereignty in almost the entire South China Sea, through its now ten-dash-line.

But a July 2016 arbitral award already invalidated Beijing’s sovereignty claim in favor of Manila’s sovereign rights.

Marcos first said that the country would be “a friend to all, an enemy to none” during his first Sona in 2022, while also asserting that the country would not lose a single inch of its territory.

During his Sona in 2024, Marcos made one of his strongest statements yet on the maritime dispute with China, declaring: “The West Philippine Sea is not merely a figment of our imagination. It is ours.”

The remark drew a standing ovation from lawmakers and guests. /dl/cb