Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the government to strengthen maritime security coordination to address “a series of serious challenges” to territorial integrity and peace as the dispute with China escalates.

The order, signed on Monday and released on Sunday, did not mention China but came after a series of maritime confrontations and recriminations over disputed areas of the South China Sea.

Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, which is a thoroughfare for more than $3 trillion in annual shipping trade. China’s claims overlap with those of the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. The Permanent Court of Arbitration said in 2016 that China’s claims had no legal basis.

The most recent clash occurred last weekend, when China used water cannon to disrupt a Philippine supply mission at Second Thomas Shoal 25 years ago for soldiers guarding a warship that had been deliberately stranded on the reef.

“Despite its efforts to promote stability and security in our maritime waters, the Philippines continues to face a series of serious challenges that threaten its territorial integrity and the peaceful existence of Filipinos,” Marcos said in the order.

The president vowed Thursday to take countermeasures against “unlawful, coercive, aggressive and dangerous attacks” by China’s coast guard.

His order expanded and reorganized the government’s maritime commission, adding the national security adviser, deputy attorney general, director of the National Intelligence Coordination Agency and the South China Sea Task Force.

The order appears to expand the role of the military, including the Armed Forces of the Philippines, not just the Navy, as one of the agencies supporting the commission.

The renamed National Maritime Commission will be the central agency to formulate strategies to ensure a “unified, coordinated and effective” framework for maritime security and domain awareness in the Philippines.

Marcos increased the number of agencies supporting the commission from nine to 13, including the space agency and the University of the Philippines Institute of Ocean Affairs and Law of the Sea.