MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. used his high-profile speech at a defense summit in Singapore to criticize China anew, saying that the dream of a peaceful South China Sea remains a distant reality because of the world superpower’s actions.

“Illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive actions continue to violate our sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdictions,” Marcos said on Friday, May 31, at the Shangri-La Dialogue.

“Attempts to apply domestic laws and [regulations] beyond one’s territory and jurisdiction violate international law, exacerbate tensions, and undermine regional peace and security,” he added.

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That statement was an apparent reference to China’s new rules that include detention for foreigners suspected of trespassing, a policy that could further escalate tensions in the West Philippine Sea, which Beijing claims is its own.

Marcos called on countries in the Indo-Pacific region to reject violations of international rules-based orders in the South China Sea, while committing to resolve issues in the important waterway “through dialogue and through diplomacy.”

“We will continue to work with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and China towards an effective and substantive code of conduct, one that is firmly moored in UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea),” he said.

A landmark 2016 arbitral ruling sided with the Philippines and rejected China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea, although Beijing does not recognize this.

In the past year, the West Philippine Sea has become a witness to China’s harassment and intimidation tactics, particularly through the use of water cannons, resulting in damaged Philippine vessels, and injured troops.

“The lines that we draw on our waters are not derived from just our imagination, but from international law. We have on our side the 1982 UNCLOS and the binding 2016 Arbitral Award, which affirm what is ours by legal right,” Marcos said on Friday.

Marcos is the first Filipino leader to deliver the keynote speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual event attended by security experts and defense officials from various countries, including the US and China. – Rappler.com