Freeing the truth for freedom of the seas

As Ukraine did with Russia’s invasion, the Philippines now exposes China’s hostile actions in the legal domain of Philippine waters and islands.

The Monitor's View

With so many official lies on social media, many more governments are getting better at pushing the truth. Ukraine, for example, has convinced most of the world – reflected in a United Nations vote last year – that, contrary to Kremlin claims, it was indeed invaded, that it is not led by neo-Nazis, and that the people of eastern Ukraine do not want to join Russia. In Scandinavia, state media just exposed how Russian spy ships have planned ways to sabotage underwater cables and wind farms in Nordic waters – contrary to disinformation from Moscow.

Now the Philippines has followed suit with its own truth-telling campaign, one designed to expose China’s military aggression within the legal domain of Philippine waters and islands in the South China Sea.

Since February, after a Chinese ship used a military-grade laser to blind Filipino sailors on patrol in their own maritime territory, the government in Manila has taken journalists to see China’s swarm of ships – and frequent provocations – within the Philippine maritime zone. A common provocation is Chinese vessels barring Philippine boats from their own waters. With video recordings, the Philippines can readily counter China’s fanciful claim that its control of islands 1,000 miles from its shores is merely peaceful.

Manila’s factual accounts have proven “to be a powerful tool in reshaping public opinion and debunking false narratives,” writes Jay Tristan Tarriela, a commodore in the Philippine navy, in The Diplomat. Talking to reporters, he said, “Chinese actions in the shadows are now checked, which also forced them to come out in the open or to publicly lie.”

Such truth-telling, along with Manila giving the U.S. military greater access to more bases, has clearly irked China, which seeks primacy in Asia over the United States. Beijing’s foreign minister will be in Manila April 21-23 trying to roll back the campaign against Chinese bullying and false narratives.

The Philippines already has much of the world’s support. In 2016, an international court invalidated China’s claim over almost all of the South China Sea, a claim that is clearly contrary to the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. No other country has supported its interpretation of maritime law.

In today’s globe-spanning digital universe, transparency is proving to be a defensive weapon. As Dr. Tarriela states, “By continuing to document and publicize these [Chinese] incidents, the international community can build a strong case against China’s actions and potentially force it to alter its behavior.”