Marcos says Philippines won’t incite wars as South China Sea tensions spike
- The president said Manila ‘will not resort to the use of force or intimidation’ to settle the maritime dispute in the waterway
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr said on Sunday his country is not in the business of instigating wars and will always aim to settle disputes peacefully, amid escalating maritime confrontations with China.
Philippine navy personnel and the Chinese coastguard had their latest clash last week in the disputed waterway, where the Philippine military said a Filipino sailor was severely injured and its vessels damaged.
China disputed the Philippine account, with a foreign ministry spokesperson saying on Thursday the necessary measures taken were lawful, professional and beyond reproach.
Marcos, who did not name China in his speech, commended the troops for exercising restraint “amid intense provocation”, and said his country would always exercise its freedoms and rights in line with international law.
“In the performance of our duties, we will not resort to the use of force or intimidation, or deliberately inflict injury or harm to anyone,” Marcos said. “We stand firm. Our calm and peaceful disposition should not be mistaken for acquiescence.”
02:34
Chinese and Philippine ships clash in first incident under Beijing’s new coast guard law
Recent maritime run-ins between China and the Philippines, a US treaty ally in Southeast Asia, have made the highly strategic South China Sea a potential flashpoint between Washington and Beijing.
The United States has condemned China’s actions and reaffirmed its ironclad defence commitments against any attack on Philippine aircraft or vessels in the South China Sea under their mutual defence treaty.
But the Philippines said on Friday there was no reason to invoke the treaty because China’s actions, which security officials have described as escalatory, could not be classified as an “armed attack”.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a conduit for more than US$3 trillion of annual shipborne commerce, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.
In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague said China’s claims had no legal basis, a decision Beijing has rejected.
“We are not in the business to instigate wars – our great ambition is to provide a peaceful and prosperous life for every Filipino,” Marcos said. “We refuse to play by the rules that force us to choose sides in a great power competition.”
