Philippines-China Maritime Dispute Intensifies with Disinformation and Rising Tensions

The maritime dispute between the Philippines and China in the South China Sea has transformed into a media and narrative battle as well as a geopolitical one. In 2016, the Philippines achieved a historic victory at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, established under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The tribunal rejected China’s claims, based on the contested “nine-dash line,” judging them to be without legal basis under international law. However, China has continued to refuse the decision, despite its legally binding nature, taking advantage of the absence of effective enforcement mechanisms.

The “nine-dash line,” a maritime demarcation that outlines China’s extensive territorial claims in the South China Sea, first appeared in 1947 on official maps of the Republic of China, according to the Council on Geostrategy.

This U-shaped line extends for hundreds of kilometers to the south and east of Hainan, encompassing waters, archipelagos and natural resources that Beijing considers under its sovereignty. However, in 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that this claim has no legal basis under international law.

In particular, the tribunal rejected the overlap of the Chinese line with the exclusive economic zones of states such as the Philippines — areas in which, according to Article 57 of UNCLOS, a coastal state holds exclusive rights to the exploitation of marine resources. The ruling explicitly denied China any historic title to these waters, confirming that the “nine-dash line” violates the framework defined by the United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea.

In 2022, with the rise to the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Manila intensified its opposition to China, publicly denouncing Chinese activities in the South China Sea. Among these were harassment and intimidation of ships of the Philippine coast guard and navy, in addition to repeated attacks on fishermen in the waters of the West Philippine Sea — a portion of the South China Sea falling within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines.

Beijing’s response combined a hybrid approach. Operational aggression, such as the use of water cannons against Philippine civilian and military vessels, was accompanied by a disinformation campaign aimed at eroding popular support for Philippine resistance and legitimizing Chinese territorial claims. A study by the Lowy Institute underscored how such narratives aim to discredit Manila’s leaders and foment internal divisions, exploiting existing political and social tensions.

Disinformation Campaign Targets Sandy Cay Sandbanks

Sandy Cay is not even properly an island, but rather a minuscule strip of land emerging from the contested waters of the Spratlys in the South China Sea. This shifting coral formation, whose sandbanks continuously redraw their boundaries with the rhythm of the tides, represents a paradoxical litmus test of regional tensions. China, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam vie for its control with equal fervor, despite its geographical insignificance.

Yet this modest shoal has suddenly returned to being the protagonist of the geopolitical clash — not for its intrinsic value, but as a perfect breeding ground for disinformation. In recent days, the battle for Sandy Cay has moved from the murky waters of the sea to the even more insidious arena of distorted information.

The uproar surrounding Sandy Cay began after Chinese state media reported that the China Coast Guard had taken control of this maritime area, located approximately 1.5 to 2 nautical miles west of Pag-asa, the largest island and administrative center of the Kalayaan Island Group of the Philippines. The Philippines considers Sandy Cay part of its territory, as it presumably falls within the territorial sea of Pag-asa. According to Chinese reports, the coast guard also hoisted the Chinese flag on the islet and claimed it was “carrying out waste collection activities.”

According to Philippine authorities, the Chinese claims were a pure fabrication, part of a broader disinformation campaign orchestrated by Beijing to alter perceptions of the complex territorial claims in the South China Sea.

The Philippine National Maritime Council responded with an official statement, calling the alleged occupation of Sandy Cay — “an inalienable part of the national territory within the waters of the West Philippine Sea” — “an emblematic case of the information manipulation strategies adopted by the Chinese authorities.”

In response to these alleged falsifications, a joint unit composed of military personnel, maritime police officers and members of the Philippine Coast Guard reached the islet, where they raised the national flag to reaffirm the country’s sovereignty.

Tensions Persist Between the Philippines and China

Philippine media accuse Beijing of pursuing its hegemonic ambitions through a mix of diplomacy and duplicity. A significant example dates back to the beginning of the year, when China and the Philippines reached a fragile, temporary agreement on the resupply of the Sierra Madre, a Philippine landing ship deliberately grounded on Second Thomas Shoal (Ayungin Shoal) to symbolically assert Manila's sovereignty in the Spratly Islands.

The understanding, presented as a measure to reduce tensions without compromising respective sovereign positions, led to the temporary lifting of the Chinese naval blockade, allowing supplies to reach the ship. However, this precarious truce has failed to prevent the escalation of tensions in other contested areas of the South China Sea.

During the same period, two research vessels from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), the Philippine government agency responsible for the management of fish resources, were forced to withdraw from the Sandy Cay area after being intercepted and driven away by units of the China Coast Guard and a helicopter from the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). The Philippine scientific mission was investigating extensive destruction of the coral reef in the area, a possible indicator of the beginning of landfill activities for the creation of an artificial island by China.

In a separate incident off the coast of Zambales, a ship from the China Coast Guard used an ultrasonic device to harass a ship from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) that was following it.

For now, the Philippine National Maritime Council has limited itself to appealing to China “to respect its obligations under international law, in particular the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2016 arbitral award on the South China Sea,” as reported by The Manila Times, “as well as to properly implement the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), a nonbinding document signed by China and the members of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) that aims to promote peace and stability in the region and to peacefully resolve territorial and jurisdictional disputes.”

However, everything suggests that in the coming months the maritime area will continue to witness new provocations, while disinformation and distorted narratives risk dominating public debate and further complicating an already complex crisis.

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