MANILA, Philippines — National Security Adviser Eduardo Año raised alarm over alleged growing asymmetric threats that endangered Philippine security, stressing that China’s coercive actions in the West Philippine Sea highlighted the urgency of stronger international cooperation.
In his address at the Navigating Asymmetric Threats: Cross-Regional Strategies for Europe and the Indo-Pacific forum hosted by the Stratbase Institute and the European Council on Foreign Relations, Año said Manila remained concerned about Beijing’s recent plan to declare a marine reserve over Scarborough Shoal, also known locally as Bajo de Masinloc.
He described the move as a “coercive attempt” to advance territorial claims in Philippine waters and a direct challenge to international law.
“Such attempts tell the world that respect for international law and a rules-based order is now being put to the side to give way to self-serving domestic laws,” Año said
The national security chief warned that threats in the region now extended beyond conventional warfare, citing the sabotage of undersea cables, state-sponsored cyber intrusions, disinformation campaigns, and the weaponization of trade and critical minerals. These challenges, he said, directly affected the Philippines as an archipelagic state dependent on secure sea lines of communication and stable digital networks.
He highlighted that instability in Asia inevitably rippled into Europe, just as Europe’s crises reverberated across the Indo-Pacific.
“Tensions in the South China Sea, in the West Philippine Sea, echo in Europe’s energy and trade networks,” Año said.
To safeguard Philippine interests, Año called for stronger cross-regional strategies that included protecting freedom of navigation, bolstering cybersecurity, diversifying supply chains, and enhancing cooperation on energy and critical infrastructure. He also pressed for closer coordination with Asean and European partners to reinforce diplomatic mechanisms that could prevent escalation in disputed waters.
“Despite unprecedented risk, I am optimistic that our regions have the resources, the capacities, and the willpower to shape the future,” he said. “Europe and the Indo-Pacific must stand as guardians of the values we deeply share—democracy, multilateralism, transparency, freedom of navigation, and free trade.”
