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PH transparency drive in WPS for raising global awareness lauded

Philippine News Agency

By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora
November 6, 2025, 4:38 pm

MANILA -- The Philippine government's transparency initiative in the West Philippine Sea is effectively raising international awareness among Europeans, particularly about the situation in the South China Sea, French Ambassador to the Philippines Marie Fontanel said on Thursday.

Speaking at the Manila Dialogue on the South China Sea held in Taguig City, Fontanel said the heightened attention the region is receiving has helped the French government advance its efforts to strengthen security cooperation with the Philippines.

"It has achieved a lot already —we talk, not only here, but seen from a European perspective, the public opinion has really started knowing more about what's going on," she said.

"The public opinion is really focused about our domestic issues and also about the war in Ukraine, which is top priority. But we have seen, thanks to the media, a lot of journalists getting more and more interested in the South China Sea."

Fontanel said this growing awareness among Europeans significantly bolsters France's ongoing efforts to deepen and expand its partnership with Manila.

Under the Marcos administration, the Philippine government has pursued a policy of "assertive transparency" in the West Philippine Sea by exposing China's aggressive actions within the country's maritime zones.

The initiative allows key government agencies to publicize information and critical developments taking place in the area promptly.

The latest OCTA Research survey, commissioned by the We Protect our Seas (WPS) Foundation, showed that 80 percent of Filipinos want to sustain the transparency initiative and agreed that the government must "keep rapidly and truthfully exposing China's coercion of Filipino vessels and fishermen."

WPS Foundation President Jeffrey Ordaniel earlier said transparency is more than a communication strategy but a practical means to counter Beijing's unlawful activities.

He said it helps combat disinformation, demonstrates the Philippines' non-acquiescence to China's claims, and shapes global opinion against the use of force or coercion in territorial disputes.

"[This enables] our allies and partners to offer support—diplomatic and in terms of capacity-building. After all, if the Philippines were to remain silent in the face of such provocations, it would weaken the moral and political basis for others to speak out in our defense, let alone extend tangible support," Ordaniel said. (PNA)