The International Arbitral Tribunal (IAT) ruling on July 12, 2016 which defined the Philippine exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS) is a victory for the Philippines' claims of maritime rights in its EEZ (properly named as the West Philippine Sea), within the South China Sea, debunking China’s claims of ownership under its so-called 9-dash line.

Thus declared the CPP in a statement on July 12 to mark the 10-year anniversary of the IAT ruling.

“The Filipino people stand on strong grounds to assert their rights under the arbitral ruling. The country must continue to engage China in vigorous diplomacy to explore and pursue all possible mutually acceptable terms of cooperation consistent with the arbitral ruling,” CPP chief information officer Marco Valbuena stressed.

The Marcos regime, however, the CPP said,  is wasting the arbitral ruling’s potential for peaceful dialogue and practical agreements, by being subservient to US imperial interests. Instead of pursuing diplomacy, the Marcos regime has only deepened tensions in the region by allowing the country to be used as springboard for US war preparations and provocations.

“Against the Filipino people’s interest and security, the arbitral ruling is now being exploited by US imperialism, in collusion with its lackeys in the Philippine military and defense establishment, to justify building up military forces against China,” the CPP said.

“Instead of serving the peaceful resolution of maritime disputes, the arbitral ruling is now being made to serve the US strategy of “containing” China’s growth. On US urging, Japan and other US allies have expressed “support” for the arbitral ruling, to justify sending its own military forces, heightening tensions and making peaceful resolution of disputes more difficult,” the CPP added.

The arbitral ruling, the CPP emphasized, is being misrepresented as having granted territorial rights to the Philippines in the Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal) to justify “joint patrols” of US and Philippine coast guard vessels in the area, as well as its continuous build up of naval forces in the South China Sea, and the deployment of troops and missiles in the Philippines.

The CPP warned that these dangerous moves form part of the “malign strategy” of US imperialism as it called on the Filipino people to reject US claims of being a friend and ally, when the US serves only its imperialist interests of imposing its hegemony and provoking war to assert its supremacy.

In a related development, the recent claim made by supposed Chinese academics that Batanes, the northernmost province of the Philippines, is Chinese territory because it is part of Taiwan, has prompted officials of the Marcos regime, namely, the secretary of national defense, scurrying not only to push back this latest bogus Chinese territorial claim, buy also to justify increased defense budget, militarization, and US military troops and weapons in Batanes, specifically the Mahatao forward operating base in Batan Island in Batanes province. According to Naval News, Mahatao’s location in the Luzon Strait is “one of Manila’s largest defense investments in the Province of Batanes to date”. The same website reported that since the deployment of a Marine brigade to the region in 2022, the Philippines has increased troop deployments, military exercises and American access to the strategic island chain. 

Under the Marcos regime, the Philippines has ceded its sovereignty and territorial rights in many thousands of hectares of military bases and sites across the country, which are declared to be under the reactionary Philippine armed forces but in reality and practice are controlled and maintained by US military forces.