Making our arbitration win complete

We look forward to the 10th year anniversary of the ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) with regard to our rights in the West Philippine Sea. In that landmark decision handed down in July 2016, the arbitral court junked the claim of China using its so-called nine-dash line, saying it had no basis. The decision stands on the power of international law.

Unfortunately, every day, efforts to undermine and discredit the ruling’s significance persist.

China has rejected the jurisdiction of the PCA. It has been waging a steady, increasingly hostile campaign of intruding into what has already been established as Philippine territory. It has employed a variety of methods to endanger the lives of our soldiers, intimidate our fisherfolk, distort narratives, play into the gullible minds, and present itself as the aggrieved party and that its actions, while brazen and abrasive to some, are apt despite its glaring violations of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

China’s continued coercive and expansionist actions in the West Philippine Sea reflect a clear disregard not only of the ruling itself, but also for the rules-based order it represents.

Thus, while the Philippines’ victory at the PCA is legal, it has not been complete. Far from it.

The favorable ruling of the PCA will not bring its full implications if coercive action from other countries undermines it and if we do not develop the requisite capability to assert, defend, and operationalize the decision. We have to ensure that the principles of the ruling—and of international law—are upheld.

Military modernization, given the changing times, has also evolved rapidly. These days, warfare no longer just means conventional combat operations. Instead, aside from these, we have gray-zone operations, cyber threats, information warfare, and hybrid tactics. The modern battlefield is now multidomain, highly technological, and constantly evolving, demanding faster, more integrated, and more adaptive defense capabilities.

This is the modern Armed Forces of the Philippines that we imagine–a modern, multidomain force capable of operating effectively across the land, maritime, air, cyber, and information domains. More than acquiring assets, we must be able to build integrated and interoperable defense architecture capable of responding to complex and simultaneous threats against Philippine sovereignty.

There is a framework already governing this, the Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept (CADC). The CADC recognizes that the Philippines, as an archipelagic state, must be capable of defending its internal waters, territorial seas, exclusive economic zone, and extended maritime domains with credible capability and strategic depth. The CADC provides the strategic vision necessary for safeguarding Philippine sovereignty amid an increasingly contested Indo-Pacific environment.

What remains necessary, however, is the political resolve and institutional capacity to fully realize that vision and address longstanding structural obstacles that stand in the way. Delays in modernization directly translate into vulnerabilities in deterrence, operational readiness, and national defense.

Modern defense capabilities cannot be developed in isolation. They require sustained partnerships anchored on mutual strategic interests and shared commitments. Activities like the Balikatan exercises, for instance, demonstrate the growing importance of interoperability, joint operational readiness, and integrated capabilities in responding to modern security contingencies.

In keeping with its role of providing platforms for multi-stakeholder conversations, the Stratbase Institute, in partnership with the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) Philippines, is holding a forum on May 14 entitled “Building Credible Deterrence Through a Multi-Domain Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization.”

We look forward to discussions on the gaps, challenges, and opportunities for modernizing the armed forces, as well as on advancing its multidomain modernization.

Sixty-five percent of Filipinos across the country support the modernization of the AFP and of the Philippine Coast Guard to acquire assets in line with ensuring our territorial integrity. Fifty-one percent also want to reinforce alliances and elevate partnerships by conducting joint patrols and military exercises with allies, friends, and partners. These are the results of a survey conducted by Pulse Asia in June 2025.

The people know what must be done, hence the clamor to increase our military’s capability to defend what is ours. Let us work to make our victory complete.

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Dindo Manhit is the founder and CEO of Stratbase Group.