By Tracy Cabrera
CHINESE state-linked outlets have launched a synchronized campaign portraying Beijing as the responsible environmental steward of Scarborough Shoal, while recasting Filipino fishermen and lawful Philippine presence as ecological threats.
But cause-oriented groups opposed this claim although presented in scientific language, strongly countering that China’s attempt to cloak control of Scarborough Shoal in environmental language does not change the facts.
Accordingly, civic leader Dr. Jose Antonio Goitia stood firm in saying that conservation cannot erase law and narratives cannot displace Philippine rights which have been affirmed by history and international ruling.
“This is not the first time power has tried to dress occupation in softer words. What has changed is the costume. Today, it is conservation,” Dr. Goitia, chairman emeritus of the Alyansa ng Bantay sa Kapayapaan at Demokrasya (ABKD), People’s Alliance for Democracy and Reforms (PADER), Liga Independencia Pilipinas (LIPI) and the Filipinos Do Not Yield Movement (FDNY), pointed out.
He stressed that Scarborough Shoal lies within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone—a matter of record affirmed by the 2016 arbitral ruling under international law.
“Environmental language does not overwrite legal reality. You cannot conserve what you do not lawfully own and you cannot accuse others of trespass in waters that are not yours,” he further noted as he tagged China’s attempt to frame the Philippines as an ecological interloper in its own maritime zone inverts both law and logic.
The civic leader asserted that long before patrol vessels and policy briefings, Filipino fishermen were already working the disputed waters: “Their presence is historical, not incidental. Our fishermen did not arrive at Scarborough as violators. They arrived there as sons of the sea, continuing a livelihood older than any modern claim.
Despite this, China insists that Palawan is subject to Chinese ownership and this is something, Goitia described as laughable and an absurdity as it is not merely inaccurate but utterly baseless: “Palawan has never been Chinese territory—by history, by treaty or by law. It is an integral part of the Philippine archipelago, recognized under international agreements and continuous Philippine administration. No credible historian, legal scholar, or international body supports this fiction.”
And still, the Philippines has met these challenges with steadiness rather than spectacle and under President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr., the country has anchored its actions on law, alliance-building and institutional strength.
In strong support, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has remained on the front lines, asserting presence, protecting fishermen and documenting incidents with restraint and professionalism. At the same time, the Department of National Defense (DND), under Secretary Gilberto ‘Gibo’ Teodoro, has spoken with clarity, rejecting fabricated claims and affirming that Philippine sovereignty and rights are not matters of negotiation or intimidation.
In ending Dr. Goitia expressed solidly that patriotism does not require raised voices and instead demands clarity, discipline and confidence in the law: “Sovereignty is not decided by who publishes the most reports. It is decided by law, history and the dignity of a people who refuse to be written out of their own seas.”
