"MORAL POSITIONING IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA DISPUTES BETWEEN THE PHILIPPI" by Eryan Ramadhani
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Abstract

For the past two decades, disputes between the Philippines and China over the South China Sea (SCS) have experienced continuous escalation. Benigno Aquino III filed an arbitration case against China. This legal success was later overturned by Rodrigo Duterte in exchange for closer relations with China. However, his decision did not cease hostility in the SCS. Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. then brought the Philippines back on legal track and steered the country closer to the United States, which further heightened tensions. Built on this background, this article intends to explain the unceasing escalation in the SCS using Positioning Theory (PT). This study finds that both Manila and Beijing used moral positioning under two major themes: maintenance of regional peace and stability and adherence to the rule of law. Positioned as a responsible member of the international community, each side claimed to be the right one while denigrating the other. Such a position was manifested through storylines, and as they unfolded, the social meaning behind moral positioning was revealed. Through the positioning triad―storylines, position, and social meaning―the Philippines and China co-constructed the social realities of the SCS. That neither side acknowledged the other’s positioning made the conflict over the SCS intractable.

Bahasa Abstract

Selama dua dekade terakhir, sengketa Laut China Selatan (LCS) antara Filipina dan Tiongkok di warna dengan eskalasi yang berkepanjangan. Benigno Aquino III mengajukan kasus arbitrase melawan Tiongkok. Keberhasilan ini ditolak oleh Rodrigo Duterte yang ingin memperbaiki hubungan dengan Tiongkok. Namun, eskalasi terus berlangsung terlepas dari restorasi hubungan kedua negara. Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. kemudian kembali menggunakan jalur hukum sekaligus mendekatkan Filipina pada Amerika Serikat yang menyebabkan bertambahnya ketegangan di LCS. Berdasarkan latar belakang tersebut, penelitian ini ingin menjelaskan dinamika eskalasi di LCS dengan menggunakan teori pemosisian atau Positioning Theory (PT). Penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa Filipina dan Tiongkok menggunakan pemosisian moral dalam sengketa LCS berdasarkan dua tema besar: pemeliharaan keamanan dan stabilitas kawasan serta kepatuhan terhadap aturan hukum. Proses ini menghasilkan dua posisi yang kontras dengan masing-masing negara menggambarkan dirinya sebagai bagian dari komunitas internasional yang bertanggung jawab, sedangkan musuh sebagai pihak yang tidak bertanggung jawab. Posisi tersebut dimanifestasikan melalui jalan cerita yang seiring berjalannya waktu mampu mengungkapkan makna sosial dari interaksi kedua negara selama konflik berlangsung. Filipina dan Tiongkok saling mengkonstruksi realitas sosial dari sengketa LCS melalui segitiga pemosisian―jalan cerita, posisi, dan makna sosial. Pemosisian yang kontradiktif antara kedua negara membuat sengketa ini menjadi lebih sulit untuk diselesaikan.

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