(Bloomberg) — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. he said his country would not send naval warships to the South China Sea in response to recent disputes with Beijing in disputed waters.
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“It will be provocative and it will be seen as a boom. We are not doing that,” Marcos told reporters on Tuesday when asked if the government plans to send Navy warships. “We’re not at war, we don’t need Navy warships.”
Marcos made these comments after the Philippines accused the China Coast Guard last week of using two submarines and a Chinese Navy vessel to conduct “dangerous maneuvers” against Philippine vessels around the disputed Scarborough Shoal.
China said it had implemented control measures after Philippine vessels “accidentally approached” its patrol vessels.
The Philippines also earlier said a Chinese Navy chopper harassed Filipino fishing boats in the disputed area. Beijing said its actions were “reasonable and legal.”
Manila will continue to do its job, Marcos said, including providing for Filipino fishermen and protecting the nation’s territorial rights. “The Philippines has never been an ambassador for the escalation of conflict,” he said, adding that the country was trying to do the opposite.
The Marcos government has been opposing China’s growing claims in the South China Sea – a key global trade route and rich in energy resources – citing a 2016 international court ruling that rejected those claims in Manila’s favor.
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