![Philippine Coast Guard personnel arrange a version of a mockup comic book on the South China Sea dispute between China and the Philippines during its launch at the National Library in Manila on January 24. [Ted Aljibe/AFP]](/gc9/images/2025/01/29/48953-philippines_south_sea_comic-370_237.webp)
By AFP |
The Philippine government has launched a comic book asserting its claims in the disputed South China Sea amid rising tensions with Beijing over the strategic waterway.
"The Stories of Teacher Jun" aims to counter China's alleged disinformation and to better inform Filipinos on their sovereign rights, National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano said.
China claims most of the South China Sea despite an international tribunal ruling it without basis, and its coast guard has clashed repeatedly with that of the Philippines, sparking fears of an armed conflict.
China aggression
"This comic book strengthens our goal to fight any attempts to blur something that is clear and true -- that we own the West Philippine Sea," Ano said at the book launch in Manila January 24, referring to waters immediately west of the Philippines.
Manila hopes to distribute the book -- which has English and Filipino versions -- across the country "to reinforce the awakened patriotism of Filipinos especially when we confront China's aggression," Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Jay Tarriela said at the event.
The book tells the story of a student's fisherman father who struggles to go to sea because of the presence of the Chinese coast guard, Tarriela said.
The student attends classes taught by "Teacher Jun" -- a character who resembles President Ferdinand Marcos -- on international law using an analogy of house fences and backyards.
Private donors funded the publication, said Tarriela.