Demystifying the transparency initiative in the West Philippine Sea amid China’s influence operations against the Marcos Jr. Administration

Since 2023, the transparency initiative in the West Philippine Sea has been gaining significant attention and recognition under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The operationalization of the transparency initiative was catalyzed by China’s illegal actions and expansionist designs for the West Philippine Sea. While much of the focus has been on China’s kinetic-oriented maneuvers at sea, this article intends to broaden the scope of analysis towards Beijing’s influence operations against Manila. As an element of its power projection, China employs influence operations to augment a target state’s decision-making process through elite capture, sowing public discontent, malign information campaigns, and local cooption. In the context of the Philippines, China’s influence operations aim to sway the Filipino public into delegitimizing the administration, criticize its foreign and security policy, and put enough pressure on the government to change course and revert to appeasement, while abandoning its growing defense partnerships. Accordingly, this article argues that the transparency initiative has demonstrated effectiveness in creating the right domestic and societal conditions to push back against China’s influence operations towards the Marcos Jr. administration. However, despite its importance, the transparency initiative still faces long-term operational challenges.