China's Ten-Dash Line Ups Ante With The Philippines

China has struck an increasingly defiant tone to the growing American military presence in its peripheries. In a telltale sign of its commitment to asserting its expansive territorial claims, Beijing recently released a new“standard” map, which controversially encompasses much of the South China Sea as well as disputed Himalayan borders with India.

Seven years after an
arbitration tribunal at The Hague
struck down the legality of China's nine-dash line claims as incompatible with modern international law, the Asian powerhouse has now revealed a new“ten-dash line”, which also encompasses Taiwan.

The newly released map provoked a choof criticism across the region, with India leading the pack. New Delhi
lodged a“strong protest”
against the inclusion of
the disputed Aksai-Chin plateau
and
Arunachal Pradesh
as part of Chinese territory.

“We have today lodged a strong protest through diplomatic channels with the China side on the so-called 2023 'standard map' of China that lays claim to India's territory.
We reject these claims as they have no basis,”
India's foreign ministry said in a statement.

Immediately after, multiple Southeast Asian nations followed suit, beginning with
Malaysia's Ministry of Foreign
Affairs' categorical rejection of
“unilateral claims...to sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction on Malaysia's maritime features.”

For its part, Vietnam made it clear that it
“resolutely rejects any claims in the East Sea [South China Sea]
by China that are based on the dashed line” amid renewed tensions following recent reports of violent Chinese harassment of Vietnamese fishermen in the disputed areas.

For the Philippines, which
initiated
the arbitration proceedings at The Hague under the aegis of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), China's new map was a double insult.

“This latest attempt to legitimize China's purported sovereignty and jurisdiction over Philippine features and maritime zones has no basis under international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,” the
Philippine
Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said
in a strongly-worded statement.

Manila's statement reminded Beijing that the 2016 ruling
“categorically stated that maritime areas of the South China Sea encompassed by the 'nine-dash line' are contrary to the Convention and without lawful effect to the extent that they exceed the geographic and substantive limits of China's maritime entitlements under the Convention.'”

The Philippines is operationally preparing for, at best, a long struggle with and, at worst, a potential conflict with the Asian superpower.

Although the South China Sea has been the frontline of Philippine-China tensions for the past decade, leading Filipino strategists are worried about any potential war over Taiwan.

As former vice-admiral Rommel Ong
told the author ,“China's occupation of Taiwan would imperil the Philippines' northernmost provinces”, directly threatening the country's heartland.

Despite its claims to“neutrality”, the Philippines will likely be automatically targeted by Chinese forces in the event of a conflict. As amutual defense treaty ally, the Philippines would be crucial to both American military countermeasures to a Chinese invasion as well as serve as a potential refuge for retreating Taiwanese forces.

Geography is key. Some of the Philippines' bases,
notably in
Mavulis
Island , are just over 100 nautical miles away from Taiwan's southern shores, making them an ideal strategic depth for pro-Taiwan forces as well as a top target for China in the event of an all-out war over the self-governing island Beijing considers a renegade province.

Despite opposition from Beijing-friendly local officials, most notably Governor
Manuel
Mamba
of Cagayan province, a growing number of Filipino leaders in northern provinces
are openly welcoming
an American military presence.

Marilou
Cayco, the provincial governor of the Batanes islands,
has publicly backed a newplan to develop
“an alternative port”
in her jurisdiction,
likely in
Ba, the provincial capital.troops have reportedly visited the area recently in order to explore the development of more robust infrastructure in the remote yet highly strategic area.

Kanishka
Gangopadhyay, a spokesperson for theembassy in Manila,
did not mention the port facility specifically, but confirmed that the

in communication with Batanas Islands authorities
“at their request to discuss ways USARPAC can support engineering, medical, and agricultural development projects in the province.”

A decision on the proposed port facility is expected to be made next month.

Jay Batongbacal,
a top Filipino maritime expert, told the media that rapidly improving facilities in the northernmost islands is crucial since
“[i]f I were a Chinese strategist, I would want to take the Batanes at minimum in order to ensure control of the Luzon straits and use the island to prevent the approach of adversary
naval forces.”

The Pentagon is reportedly in contact with Philippine troops stationed in the Batanes Islands about the potential transfer of radar systems to enhance their domain awareness, including over choke points of the Luzon Strait and
Bashi
Channel, both of which have seen an uptick in Chinese naval activities in recent years.

Earlier this year, the Batanes Islands served as a training site for the massive Balikatan exercises, which saw as many as
17,000
military personnel from the US, Australia, Japan and the Philippines simulate modern warfare and undertake varimaritime security drills.

Follow Richard Javad Heydarian on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @Richeydarian