PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. reiterated the country’s commitment in promoting peace in the region amid prevailing disputes particularly in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), but he stressed that the Philippines will still respond to the actual situation on the ground.
During the courtesy call of newly appointed Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Endo Kazuya in Malacañang on Thursday, April 4, Marcos said the Philippines cannot just ignore what is happening in the WPS.
“When it comes to foreign policy and that we analyze geopolitics, this is the most important thing that we must find a way to keep it (WPS) at peace. That is what the Philippines will always work for,” said Marcos.
“However, we also have to respond to the actual situation on the ground. They cannot cover our eyes and pretend that nothing happened,” he added.
China has been continuously harassing and intervening the Philippines in conducting routine rotation and resupply missions, particularly in Ayungin Shoal where its BRP Sierra Madre was deliberately grounded to signify its sovereignty in the area.
The recent incident where Chinese vessels bombarded the Philippine ships with water has resulted in the injury to three navy personnel and serious damage to the Filipino vessel.
China has been maintaining their sovereign right in the WPS (South China Sea), refusing to recognize an arbitral ruling that invalidates their claims.
Marcos earlier maintained that the Philippines will not yield, as he ordered relevant National Government agencies and instrumentalities to implement a response and countermeasure package that is “proportionate, deliberate, and reasonable in the face of the open, unabating, and illegal, coercive, aggressive, and dangerous attacks by agents of the China Coast Guard and the Chinese Maritime Militia.”
"We seek no conflict with any nation, more so nations that purport and claim to be our friends but we will not be cowed into silence, submission, or subservience. Filipinos do not yield," he added.
Marcos expressed gratitude to Japan for its assistance in terms of not only in equipment but also in training which he said was “very important.”
He said there are additional dimensions to the Philippine-Japan relationship, which now feature security and defense, as he stressed the need to adjust the way the two nations do business together.
The goal, he said, is to keep the South China Sea as an area where there is freedom of navigation and trade in that part of the world.
“That’s all we wish for and so we are happy that once we try to do that we have you as part of it,” Marcos said. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)