President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. should veer away from his predecessor’s foreign policy and assert the country’s claims in the South China Sea, a coalition said on Monday, a day before the sixth anniversary of the Philippines’ arbitral victory in its sea dispute with China. “If he decides to follow the Duterte administration’s defeatist policy on China, and if he crumbles before Beijing’s bullying and abandons our fisherfolk, the Filipino youth will make sure that he regrets it,” the West Philippine Sea Coalition said in a statement. The group, which is composed of sectoral groups and former government officials, said the government should craft a foreign policy that is consistent with the arbitral ruling of the United Nations-backed tribunal that invalidated China’s claim to more than 80% of the sea.

Atienza, K. A. T. (2022, July 12). Marcos told to assert sea claim against China. Business World, p. S1/12.