Atin Ito to bring musicians to West Philippine Sea

MANILA, Philippines — A Philippine group that leads civilian missions to the West Philippine Sea plans to return to the tense waterways in May to hold a "peace and solidarity" concert. 

The Atin Ito ("This is ours") Coalition announced Monday, March 17, that its third civilian mission will set sail on May 25, featuring musical performances as a creative approach to asserting Philippine sovereignty amid ongoing tensions with Chinese vessels in the South China Sea. 

"We are setting sail with a message of peace and solidarity through music," Rafaela David, co-convenor of the coalition, said at a press conference on Monday.

"Through the power of art and collective action, we will fight for what is rightfully ours — not with weapons of war, but with the unyielding force of music and solidarity," she added.

The upcoming mission follows Atin Ito's first two missions held in December 2023 and May 2024, respectively. 

Edicio Dela Torre, another convenor of Atin Ito, said the coalition's civilian missions have helped the public better understand the West Philippine Sea issue as a matter of the Philippines asserting its legal rights.

Having a "concert at sea" would be a peaceful way of asserting the Philippines' territorial integrity, Dela Torre said. 

"We are always being accused of being the ones starting fights... But we don’t want to add to that. We want peace and solidarity," Dela Torre said in Filipino. 

"The power of culture and arts is important in delivering messages. I hope this new initiative will break another ground so that we can call attention and ask people to engage at the level they can," Dela Torre added. 

Filipino artist Noel Cabangon and rock group Rouge will join the mission. Japanese artist Fumiya Sankai also expressed support for the mission through a video message during the press conference.

During the Monday press conference, Kiko Aquino Dee connected the Philippines' efforts to assert its sovereign rights over the West Philippine Sea with civic responsibility, urging Filipinos to "vote for leaders who will stand up for the Filipino people and fight for the country's interests above all."

The West Philippine Sea refers to the waters in the South China Sea that overlap with the Philippines' 370-kilometer exclusive economic zone. 

A rotating fleet of Chinese vessels has been prowling the waters off Zambales since the start of the year and refusing to heed radio challenges from the Philippine Coast Guard to leave. 

The Philippines says the illegal presence of the Chinese Coast Guard in the West Philippine Sea violates both international and domestic laws, including the 2016 arbitral award that nullified its so-called nine-dash line claim in the resource-rich South China Sea.  — Cristina Chi