WPS and INDSR Release New Report on Countering PRC Maritime Coercion and Cognitive Warfare
Manila, May 29, 2026 — The WPS Foundation, together with Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR), today released “Defending the Frontline: Countering PRC Maritime Coercion and Cognitive Warfare,” a new report synthesizing the proceedings of the Third Track 1.5 Workshop on Countering the PRC’s Illegal/Coercive Maritime Operations and Cognitive Warfare, held in Cebu on 10–11 March 2026.
Authored by Frances Mangosing, the report examines how the People’s Republic of China is employing an integrated strategy of maritime coercion, lawfare, and cognitive warfare across the First Island Chain to reshape the regional security environment below the threshold of armed conflict. It draws on the closed-door, non-attribution exchanges among academics, policy experts, and practitioners from the Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, the United States, and other partner countries who participated in the workshop in their private capacities.
Through comparative perspectives from Manila, Taipei, and Tokyo, the report identifies common patterns in the PRC’s approach—including civilian-military integration, United Front activities, and the strategic use of legal ambiguity—and assesses their cumulative effect on the rules-based maritime order, including the 2016 Arbitral Award. It concludes with practical recommendations for strengthening regional cooperation through joint research, information sharing, strategic communications, and a coordinated, whole-of-society response to persistent gray zone challenges in the Indo-Pacific.
The full report is available for download here.
