In the middle of the West Philippine Sea, the Philippine national flag was flown at half-mast on Pag-asa Island to mourn the death of former president Benigno Aquino III, under whose presidency the Philippines stood up to China. 

The Kalayaan local government of Pag-asa Island lowered its flag half-mast in the wake of Aquino’s death on Thursday, June 24. Aquino, the 15th president of the Philippines, passed away in his sleep and died from renal disease secondary to diabetes, his family confirmed. 

Kalayaan Mayor Roberto del Mundo said the community mourned the passing of Aquino.

“We will never forget how he confronted China in the international tribunal over the West Philippine Sea issue. Salamat, PNoy!” Del Mundo said in a statement on Friday, June 25.

Pag-asa Island, the Philippines’ seat of power in the West Philippine Sea, lies 480 kilometers west of Puerto Princesa City, Palawan. Internationally known as Thitu Island, Pag-asa is the largest outpost in the Kalayaan Island Group. 

Jonel Hugo/Kalayaan LGU

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Under Aquino, the Philippines filed its historic case against China with the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague. The Philippines later won that case, which affirmed the country’s rights in the West Philippine Sea and struck down as illegal China’s nine-dash line it used to claim virtually the entire South China Sea. 

A few months before his death, Aquino said in a speech in February 2021 that the Philippines stood up to China “because it was the right thing to do.” Aquino said the “last straw that pushed us over the edge” was the 2012 Scarborough standoff, where China moved to leave its ships in the area despite a US-brokered agreement where both the Philippines and China vowed to withdraw their ships. 

“We stood up to China because it was the right thing to do. China’s aggressiveness gave us the opportunity to finally resolve this long-standing dispute in this part of the region,” Aquino said.

China, however, continues to ignore the ruling, while its ships continue to swarm the vicinity of Pag-asa Island, prompting the Philippines to file a diplomatic protest against Beijing. 

Weeks ahead of the fifth anniversary of the 2016 Hague ruling, the Philippines hailed the legacy of the landmark award, calling it the “North Star” of the country, as well as the Philippines’ “gift to the world” beyond the South China Sea. – with reports from Keith Anthony Fabro/Rappler.com