Newly elected Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on 26 May that he would uphold an international ruling against Beijing over the disputed South China Sea and stressed that he would not allow China to trample on Manila's maritime rights.
China lays claim to almost the entire waterway, through which trillions of dollars worth of trade flows every year. The Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam have competing claims.
Beijing has ignored a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which declared its historical claim unfounded.
Outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte fostered relations with his more powerful neighbour by suspending the ruling in return for promises on trade and investment, which critics say have not been kept. In his strongest statements yet on the sensitive issue, Marcos said he would not allow even a millimetre of the Philippines' maritime coastal rights to be trampled on.
Marcos, who is popularly known as Bongbong, received more than half of the votes in the elections on 9 May and thus won the presidency by a large margin. He officially takes office on 30 June.
However, Marcos has signalled that he will not adopt Duterte's "somewhat unorthodox approach" to foreign policy, which has unsettled diplomats with his fiery rhetoric and erratic character. Marcos indicated that he would seek a balance between China and the United States, which are vying for the closest relationship with his administration.
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