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Aug 16, 2026

Governance at Sea: Is this the right time for a Department of Maritime and Ocean Affairs?

COMMENTARY: It's high time for the president and our legislators to consider a Department of Maritime and Ocean Affairs built around the existing Presidential Office for Maritime Concerns. This would then become the lead agency for maritime security, maritime domain awareness, and compliance with UNCLOS and the 2016 Arbitral Award, and for the formulation of integrated maritime policies covering security, environment, fisheries, shipping, and ports.

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Governance at Sea: Is this the right time for a Department of Maritime and Ocean Affairs?
Jul 15, 2026

Batanes: A decisive point in an avoidable conflict

COMMENTARY: The public should not be too alarmed of the Chinese claims over the northern part of the country. Unlike the government’s incoherent posture in the West Philippine Sea, the Armed Forces of the Philippines has a more structured and disciplined approach to countering Chinese moves in the Batanes Group of Islands and with elements of a viable “denial strategy” in play.

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Batanes: A decisive point in an avoidable conflict
May 25, 2026

Taking back the WPS, one mission at a time

Talk is cheap. We should have learned that lesson yesterday. Our verbosity alone will not drive China’s ships away from our exclusive economic zone. Words must be backed up by a coherent strategy and determined responses that imposes costs on them. Recovering control of our waters, after it was given up by the Duterte administration before, will require a long, arduous and incremental campaign, one island at a time, one feature at a time, one mission at a time.

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Taking back the WPS, one mission at a time