Philippines president claims Russian submarine is ‘worrisome’

However, a top security official in Manilla has conceded that the Russian sub has every right to sail through Filipino waters

Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has described the reported presence of a Russian submarine in the West Philippine Sea as “very concerning.” Marcos has lobbied for an increased US military presence in the area, which is one of the world’s most disputed waterways.

The Russian Kilo-class submarine was spotted around 80 nautical miles (148km) off the island of Mindoro on Thursday, Philippine Navy spokesman Roy Vincent Trinidad said in a statement on Monday. It identified itself by radio and said “it was awaiting improved weather conditions before proceeding to Vladivostok, Russia,” after an exercise with the Malaysian military, Trinidad said.

”All of that is very concerning,” Marcos told reporters. “Any intrusion into the West Philippine Sea, of our EEZ [Exclusive Economic Zone], of our baselines is very worrisome.”

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The West Philippine Sea is a disputed term for a disputed body of water. It is usually used to refer to the area of the South China Sea located within the Philippines’ EEZ, although China claims sovereignty over two atolls – the Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal – situated inside this zone. Beijing does not use the term ‘West Philippine Sea’, while Manilla sometimes uses it to describe the entire South China Sea.

Apart from China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei claim parts of the South China Sea. The waterway sees significant volumes of commercial traffic and serves as the main conduit for the foreign trade of South Asian nations.

Jonathan Malaya, the assistant director-general of the Philippines National Security Council, told reporters that the Russian submarine has the right of “innocent passage” through the sea.

The US regularly invokes this same right to sail warships through the Taiwan Strait and past islands claimed by China, including the Spratly Islands, Scarborough Shoal, and the Paracel Islands. Washington also cited ‘freedom of navigation’ when an American destroyer sailed into what Russia says is its territorial waters near Vladivostok in 2020, with the Pentagon arguing that the bay was improperly claimed by the USSR in 1984.

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Relations between Manila and Washington were often strained under Marcos’ predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte. While Duterte sought to improve relations with Beijing and Moscow, Marcos – the son of notorious dictator Ferdinand Marcos – has taken a more pro-American course.

Since taking office in 2022, Marcos has allowed American forces and weapons access to four additional Philippines military bases, some of which are located near disputed waters. Marcos has also increased the scale and frequency of joint US-Philippines military drills, and backed the US Navy’s ‘freedom of navigation’ operations in the South China Sea.

These maneuvers have stoked tension with Beijing. After a two-day exercise by the US, Australia, Canada, and the Philippines near Scarborough Shoal in August, China launched a surprise combat patrol near the disputed atoll to test its “strike capabilities.” In a statement, the Chinese military accused the Philippines and its allies of “undermining regional peace and stability.”