Archive - South China Sea

In Sacred Shores, Dengcoy Miel reflects on the idea of ownership, sovereignty, and territory amidst Filipinos’ seeming apathy to the issue.

Recto Bank is within the country’s 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone, but is also claimed by China.

It seemed like a simple question: "Is Itu Aba a rock or an island?"

Henry Bensurto, Jr. is the man who worked tirelessly for the Philippines' victory over China in the West Philippine Sea dispute.

Protesters made their messages clear as they waved Philippine flags during a gathering to mark the 8th anniversary of the Philippines' arbitral award.

Unlike the claim of China and former president Rodrigo Duterte, the 2016 arbitral ruling on the South China Sea is not “just a piece of paper.”

Retired associate justice Antonio Carpio renewed his call for the Philippines to “pile up more arbitral awards” against China to negate its “baseless and expansive” claim of almost the entire South China Sea.

The Philippines outmaneuvered China on the West Philippine Sea dispute at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague by refusing to play the Asian superpower’s game.

The biggest impact of the ruling, Bensurto reminded, is that "we were able to prove China wrong" at a sound and legal tribunal.

American obligation to defend the Philippines in the South China Sea is a nothing-burger. The question for Filipinos is whether they would risk upgrading this obligation under a renegotiated MDT given the certainty of a conflict between U.S. and China for dominance in the region. The question for Americans is whether they would be willing to foot the bill with their lives on tiny rocks thousands of miles across the Pacific.

Germany is urging all parties involved in the South China Sea situation to “refrain from using violence” as it closely monitors the escalating tensions in the area.

Marcos was “horrified” that an alleged agreement between Duterte and China may have “compromised” the territory, the sovereignty and the sovereign rights of the Philippines.

U.S. ambassador to China Nicholas Burns was asked about Beijing’s “strategic goal” in its continuously increasing pressure on the Philippines over the disputed South China Sea and “how far they will go in testing the U.S. willingness” to defend its former colony.

When former president Rodrigo Duterte agreed with Chinese President Xi Jin Ping to not repair the BRP Sierra Madre, he was, in fact, abandoning the Marines valiantly manning the rusting ship, which has become a heroic symbol of the Philippine’s resistance against the creeping invasion by China. That was treason.

This special report was produced under VERA Files’ project on enhancing the media’s capability to raise public awareness of the situation in the South China Sea, funded by the Government of Canada through its Canada Fund for Local Initiatives. #CanadaFundPH #Together75A different version of this report has appeared in the Manila Standard on Feb. 1, 2024.

For Tabios and Cuaresma, and thousands of other fishermen in this province, the WPS dispute is not just about fighting for our territorial rights but also fighting for their livelihood. (This special report was produced under VERA Files’ project on enhancing the media’s capability to raise public awareness of the situation in the South China Sea, funded by the Government of Canada through its Canada Fund for Local Initiatives. #CanadaFundPH )

"I was a bit disappointed with the decision to turn back. So were the other volunteers. But the incident all the more strengthened their commitment to defend the country’s territory in the West Philippine Sea." Read Palawan News reporter Gerald Ticke's first-hand account of his experience joining a Christmas caravan to Lawak Island in the West Philippine Sea. (This special report was produced under VERA Files’ project on enhancing the media’s capability to raise public awareness of the situation in the South China Sea, funded by the Government of Canada through its Canada Fund for Local Initiatives. #CanadaFundPH )

Evalan, Edora and Barnachan said fishermen’s wives like them cannot depend on the sea anymore for their livelihood.

This special report was first published by PressOnePH on Jan. 6, 2024. It was produced under VERA Files’ project on enhancing the media’s capability to raise public awareness of the situation in the South China Sea, funded by the Government of Canada through its Canada Fund for Local Initiatives. #CanadaFundPH

This special report was first published by Film Weekly on Dec. 20, 2023. It was produced under VERA Files’ project on enhancing the media’s capability to raise public awareness of the situation in the South China Sea, funded by the Government of Canada through its Canada Fund for Local Initiatives. #CanadaFundPH

This special report was first published by Philstar.com on Dec. 14, 2023. It was produced under VERA Files’ project on enhancing the media’s capability to raise public awareness of the situation in the South China Sea, funded by the Government of Canada through its Canada Fund for Local Initiatives. #CanadaFundPH

This special report was first published by ABS-CBN News Patrol ng Pilipino on Oct. 25, 2023. It was produced under VERA Files’ project on enhancing the media’s capability to raise public awareness of the situation in the South China Sea, funded by the Government of Canada through its Canada Fund for Local Initiatives. #CanadaFundPH

Dahil sa patuloy na pagsira ng China sa coral reefs sa West Philippine Sea, nangangamba ang mga mangingisda at eksperto sa masamang epekto nito sa kabuhayan at food security ng bansa. Pakinggan sila dito sa special episode ng #WhatTheF?! Podcast.

Alamin mula sa mga mangingisda sa Zambales kung ano nga ba ang sitwasyon sa West Philippine Sea, dito sa VERA Files Fact Check.

“Making wars means making maps,” the Thai scholar Thongchai Winichakul wrote in his landmark Siam Mapped: A History of the Geo-Body of a Nation (1994).

True to a Biblical reference on the wise man who built his house on a rock, BRP Sierra Madre stands defiantly on Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) even as one of Asia Pacific’s top military superpowers has been trying to have it removed for almost 30 years now.

As the South Chinese Sea dispute continues to heat up, former associate justice Antonio Carpio has recommended that the Philippines submit the conflicting claims in the Spratly Islands to voluntary arbitration in the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. contradicted the assertions of the Department of Foreign Affairs and the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea that the 2016 arbitral court decision had declared the area as part of the Philippine exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.

Retired associate justice Antonio Carpio said the “national territory” clause is in Article I of the Constitution, while “the SC based its decision on the JMSU case on Section 2 of Article XII – these are two different articles in the Constitution.”

Can the U.S. invoke MDT if its vessel is attacked while aiding Taiwan vs China?Retired Justice Antonio Carpio: No