An echo of Ukraine鈥檚 war in Asia
Ukraine鈥檚 fight to restore its territorial sovereignty has an unusual supporter half a world away 鈥揻rom an Asian country whose own struggles for national integrity help reveal a grander global goal in Ukraine.
For the Philippines, Russia鈥檚 violation of international law was a reminder of China鈥檚 forceful taking of strategic reefs in Philippine waters a decade ago. Unable to take back the islets, the Philippines instead took the high moral ground. In 2016, it won an international court ruling against Beijing鈥檚 violation of the Law of the Sea treaty.
On July 12, for the sixth anniversary of the verdict by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague 鈥� a verdict China rejected 鈥� a new government in Manila reminded the world of what is at stake in upholding a rules-based world order.
The ruling, said Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo, remains 鈥渁n inspiration for how matters should be considered 鈥� through reason and right 鈥� by states facing similarly challenging circumstances.鈥� The court put an aspect of international law 鈥渂eyond the reach of arms to change,鈥� said the country鈥檚 top diplomat. He also welcomed 鈥渢he support of a growing list of countries鈥� for the ruling.
The newly installed Philippine president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., appears ready to take a stronger stance against China than his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte. 鈥淲e will not allow a single square ... millimeter鈥� of the Philippines鈥� 200-kilometer economic zone in the South China Sea 鈥渢o be trampled upon,鈥� said Mr. Marcos.
The new president, the son a former dictator, also has domestic opinion behind him. A poll in June shows nearly 90% of Filipinos insist on the country鈥檚 rights to its offshore waters. And the Biden administration used the anniversary to reaffirm that an armed attack on the Philippines in the South聽China聽Sea would trigger a U.S. military response under a 1951 mutual defense treaty.
The Philippines is not alone in dealing with China鈥檚 aggression. The Chinese military has intruded on either the islands or airspace of countries from Japan to Taiwan to Indonesia. 鈥淣owhere is the rules-based maritime order under greater threat than in the South聽China聽Sea,鈥� said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken last year.
Asia may well be where the shape of the international order will be decided, perhaps more than in Europe with the Ukraine war. Both Russia and China have imperial aspirations with little regard for the stability that honoring national borders brings. Yet China鈥檚 economic and military strengths make it a greater threat. Countries like the Philippines are trying to set a standard for the power of law over the power of guns.
