Marcos: PH 'fierce' in adhering to rules-based order amid WPS tensions

The Philippines will continue to be fierce and vocal in pushing for rules-based international order, according to President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.

"We continue to be a vocal and fierce advocate for adherence to the rules-based international order," Marcos said in The President's Report to the People 2022-2025, referring to the country's sustained diplomatic and legal response to the tensions in the West Philippine Sea.

Marcos said the Philippines' foreign policy remains guided by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea. 

The President reported that the Department of Foreign Affairs lodged a total of 219 diplomatic protests from July 1, 2022 to May 9, 2025 against China's continued "illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive actions" in the region.

During his fourth State of the Nation Address last Monday, Marcos underscored his administration's foreign policy: "The Philippines is a friend to all. The Philippines is an enemy to none."

He also said that although efforts to defend the Philippines' rights would be heightened, the government would remain "patient" in performing the same.

In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines over China's claims in the South China Sea, saying that it had "no legal basis."

However, China has since refused to recognize the ruling. 

Marcos has been consistent that the Philippines would never give up a single inch of its territory to aggressors. — VDV, GMA Integrated News