Envoy: EU rejects coercion, willing to defend int’l law in SCS

UPHOLDING INT’L LAW. European Commission High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas speaks to reporters during a joint press conference with Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo at Shangri-La The Fort in Taguig City on Monday (June 2, 2025). The EU’s top diplomat reaffirmed the bloc’s commitment to helping countries promote the international law in the region. (PNA photo by Robert Alfiler)

By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora, Philippine News Agency

MANILA – The European Union (EU) rejects any use of coercion and is willing to defend international law in Asia Pacific, including the South China Sea (SCS) issue, its top diplomat said Monday.

“We reject any unilateral changes to the status quo, including the use of coercion,” European Commission High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas said in a joint presser in Makati City.

“Of course, we are supporting all the partners who are believers of international law, and we are willing to defend the law as well because if you don’t defend the law, then the situation is — in the world, in global sphere — much, much different,” she added.

Kallas was responding to a question of what the bloc considers a red line when it comes to the Chinese aggression in the Asia Pacific, specifically to Taiwan and the South China Sea, and how it intends to respond.

At the recent Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Kallas rejected calls from the US for European allies to instead focus on security on the European continent, arguing that the security theaters in both the Indo-Pacific and Europe are “interlinked.”

The Philippines has recently criticized China over its dangerous maneuvers and use of water cannons against Filipino vessels conducting legitimate operations near the Sandy Cay, a feature under the Philippine jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea.

At the same presser, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said China is indeed a “security challenge for the Philippines.”

“Certainly, we have undertaken actions, as you are well aware, of trying to address that through peaceful means, through dialogue and diplomacy,” he said.

Beyond dialogue, Manalo said the Philippines is also working to establish stronger security cooperation with other like-minded partners like the European Union, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea.

During their lunch meeting, both officials said the Philippines and EU are committed to supporting non-aggression, sovereign equality and the territorial integrity of all nations.

Both ministers reaffirmed support for the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2016 Arbitral Award.