Last week on January 19, 2023, during his trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. remarked the South China Sea Dispute “keeps you up at night, keeps you up most of the time…It’s very dynamic, it’s constantly in flux so you have to pay attention to it.” On the other hand, on January 9, 2023, the Philippine Coast Guard reported a Chinese Coast Guard vessel drove away a Filipino fishing boat at Ayungin Shoal, despite the “agreement” earlier mentioned by President Marcos, Jr. “that China will not stop our fishermen from fishing.”

del Rosario, A. (2023, January 26). The clear path to resolve the SCS dispute. Manila Standard, p. A4.