In the South China Sea, the Spratly Islands is heavily contested by the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Taiwan, and Malaysia. But in recent years, China is more aggressively claiming the whole area as they use their military supremacy to surpass their neighboring countries. As this is currently an emerging conflict due to the rise of China as a superpower, we must stop this immediately through diplomacy, military cooperation, and multilateral pressure on China so that it will prevent more conflict and militarization that can lead to a world war.

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        Currently, the Philippines occupies ten islets and shoals in Spratly, while Vietnam, Taiwan, and Malaysia occupy the other islands. With tension more aggressive in the region, the United States continuously plays a role despite China's daunting warnings not to interfere. Due to rising tensions in the South China Sea and the unprecedented military actions made by China in some islands, The Philippines filed a case in the International Arbitral Tribunal where the Arbitral Tribunal decided that China has no historical claims in the region, which made the Philippines won the case. But, unfortunately, China would not recognize it because they claim that they are the first country to discover the islands.

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Now is the time that all countries must put an action to stop China from making the situation worse. Diplomatic action is the key with the cooperation of the claimant countries and other powerful countries such as the United States and Japan. We need to modernize our external defense, especially the Philippine Navy, by acquiring extensive and more armed frigates and submarines to patrol our vast seas, like Indonesia, where they continuously modernize their military. We should also acquire fighter jets for the Philippine Air Force to defend our airspace against missile attacks. It seems that countries, especially the ASEAN, have committed to resolve the dispute by promoting the code of conduct in the South China Sea.

 

The cooperation of all countries is the best way to maintain peace and stability in the region. Multilateral engagements together with the United States and other UN states must act quickly to ensure that all countries respect each other under international law and force China to stop militarizing the region.