Rep. Leila de Lima rejected the Chinese Embassy in Manila's repeated claims that the Philippines instigated the West Philippine Sea dispute, calling it a case of 'selective amnesia'. In her statement, she noted that China's claims rely entirely on its nine-dash line assertion, which a 2016 Hague tribunal ruled has no legal basis.
In a statement issued on Tuesday night, November 13, Rep. Leila de Lima (ML Party-list) argued that China's assertions of overlapping exclusive economic zones (EEZ) in the South China Sea hinge solely on its nine-dash line claim. "Regardless of the distinction between a territorial sea and an EEZ, it does not really matter because China itself is guilty of the most absurd disregard for legal distinctions when it claims the whole of the South China Sea as its territorial waters," she said.
She highlighted that China lies approximately 900 to 1,000 kilometers from the Philippines, creating a 300-kilometer buffer zone between their EEZs. Yet, China maintains territorial control over the entire South China Sea, of which the West Philippine Sea forms a minor portion.
A 2016 tribunal in The Hague ruled that China's nine-dash line lacks legal basis and infringes on the Philippines' sovereign rights within its 200-nautical-mile EEZ, encompassing various reefs, shoals, and islands in the West Philippine Sea.
De Lima's remarks responded to the Chinese Embassy in Manila's rejection of the National Maritime Council's statement, which reaffirmed Beijing's persistent illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive activities in the West Philippine Sea. The embassy's deputy spokesperson accused the Philippines of incursions and economic activities in what China deems its exclusive waters, specifically at Huangyan Dao (Scarborough Shoal) and Xianbin Jiao (Escoda Shoal), claiming Manila provoked tensions by deploying Coast Guard vessels.
"It has always been the Philippines that has time and again provoked trouble in an attempt to change the status quo," the embassy stated, asserting that China is merely defending its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights.
However, both Scarborough Shoal and Escoda Shoal fall within the Philippines' 200-nautical-mile EEZ. De Lima pointed to China's history of aggression in the Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal, noting its seven military outposts in the Spratlys—the most among claimant nations.
"Of course China conveniently skipped its own history of aggression in the Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal in its litany of so-called provocative actions of the Philippines," she said. She added that China omitted its aggressive actions against Philippine fisherfolk and Philippine Coast Guard personnel while defending what she called an imaginary coast 1,000 kilometers away.
Last year, China announced plans to designate Scarborough Shoal as a 3,253-hectare national nature reserve, viewed as an effort to assert control. In September 2025, the Department of Foreign Affairs filed a diplomatic protest against this plan, stating the shoal is an integral part of the Philippines under its sovereignty and jurisdiction.
"They are not asking us to be their friends. They are asking the Philippines to be their vassal. That is what the intimidation, aggression, and violence in the WPS is all about," De Lima concluded, underscoring the broader challenge for the Philippines in confronting a global superpower's regional ambitions.
