Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr said on Sunday that his country has no real interest in starting wars and can all the time strive for peaceful resolution of disputes amid escalating maritime confrontations with China.
Last week, Philippine Navy personnel and the Chinese Coast Guard clashed within the disputed waterway, where Philippine military officials say a Filipino sailor was seriously injured and his ships damaged.
China disputed the Philippines’ account, and a foreign ministry spokesman said on Thursday that the vital measures taken were legal, skilled and beyond reproach.
Marcos, who didn’t mention China by name in his speech, praised the troops for exercising restraint “within the face of intense provocation” and said his country would all the time exercise its freedoms and rights in accordance with international law.
“In the performance of our duties, we will not resort to the use of force or intimidation, nor will we intentionally cause harm or harm to anyone,” Marcos said. “We maintain our position. Our calm disposition should not be confused with acquiescence.”
Recent maritime clashes between China and the Philippines, a US ally in Southeast Asia, have turned the highly strategic South China Sea into a possible flashpoint between Washington and Beijing.
The United States condemned China’s actions and reaffirmed its firm defense obligations against any attack on Philippine aircraft or ships within the South China Sea under the mutual defense treaty.
However, the Philippines said on Friday there was no reason to invoke the treaty because China’s actions, which security officials described as escalatory, couldn’t be classified as an “armed attack.”
China claims almost your complete South China Sea, through which greater than $3 trillion in annual maritime trade passes, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.
In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague found that China’s claims had no legal basis, and Beijing rejected the choice.
“We aren’t within the business of starting wars – our great ambition is to be sure that every Filipino lives a peaceful and prosperous life,” Marcos said. “We refuse to play by rules that force us to choose sides in a contest for great power.”
