THREE weeks shy of his formal inauguration, the pressure on President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to take a forceful, if not combative, position in the West Philippine Sea begins. Three days before the celebration of the Philippine Independence Day and a day after the visit of US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) under Teodoro Locsin Jr. publicized the filing of a diplomatic protest against China made last April 4 over a sea incident that happened two months prior already. Oddly, the protest's public release came as the country marks Philippines-China Friendship Day.

The timing raises questions about the motives behind it.