DND Fires Back at Beijing: China Is Ruining Its Own Image in the West PH Sea

The Department of National Defense pushed back against China’s latest remarks on the West Philippine Sea dispute, saying Beijing has only itself to blame for the reputational damage caused by its own actions.

In a statement reported by Rappler, DND spokesperson Assistant Secretary Arsenio Andolong rejected China’s claim that Philippine maritime activities near Bajo de Masinloc were some kind of staged spectacle. He said the country’s operations there are lawful, routine, and fully within Philippine sovereign rights under international law.

Andolong also defended Manila’s transparency strategy, which involves publicly documenting incidents in the West Philippine Sea. He said China dislikes that approach because it exposes aggressive and deceptive behavior that the international community is already seeing more clearly.

The dispute centers on Bajo de Masinloc, also known internationally as Scarborough Shoal, which lies just over 100 nautical miles from Zambales and falls within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. While a 2016 arbitral ruling did not decide sovereignty over the shoal, it said the area is a common fishing ground and that no state should block access there.

Despite that ruling, Filipino fishers and government vessels have continued to face harassment around the shoal. The latest exchange shows that tensions remain high, with Manila again insisting that China’s sweeping claims and pressure tactics have no legal basis.

Source: Rappler