AFP Warns: Philippines Already in 'Political, Economic, and Informational War' Over West Philippine Sea — Cognitive Domain Now Primary Battlefield

Senior Armed Forces of the Philippines officials publicly warned on May 24, 2026 that the Philippines is already engaged in a multi-domain conflict over the West Philippine Sea that has moved far beyond traditional maritime confrontation. AFP Deputy Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Arvin Lagamon, speaking at a forum organized by the Stratbase Institute and Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, declared: 'We are already at war. Not yet a kinetic war, but the political war, the economic war, and more importantly, the cyber and informational war are already going on.' Lagamon characterized China's WPS activities as 'daily illegal, coercive, aggressive, deceptive, destructive, and bullying behavior' and stressed that Philippines' defense modernization must expand beyond weapons systems to include cyber defense, intelligence, strategic communications, and cognitive warfare capabilities. WPS Spokesperson Rear Admiral Roy Trinidad warned at the same forum that 'the modern battlefield is the mindset of the Filipino people' — noting that information manipulation could affect Philippine voter behavior by 2028 and that protecting 'the cognitive domain of the Filipino people' is a national security imperative. Trinidad cited coordinated Chinese Embassy Manila operations targeting the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) as a documented example: when the Chinese Embassy issued statements attacking PCIJ, the virality of the messaging within hours attested to a coordinated influence operation. Stratbase President Victor Andres 'Dindo' Manhit urged the Philippines to 'transition from asserting our rights to defending our rights' — noting that efforts to undermine the 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling persist daily and that the Philippines' transparency strategy (PCG public video releases) represents the most effective counter-operation deployed to date. The forum's warning comes on the 18th consecutive day of the Xiang Yang Hong 33's unauthorized presence near Pag-asa Island and the 13th consecutive day of Beijing's diplomatic silence on the Philippines' UNCLOS Article 246 note verbale — with Philippine officials noting that China's non-response strategy itself constitutes information warfare designed to normalize unauthorized Chinese presence in Philippine waters through attrition.