GCAPTAIN | Published December 10, 2024
Dec 10, 2024 (Bloomberg) – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said his nation won’t deploy Navy warships to the South China Sea in response to recent clashes with Beijing in disputed waters.
“It will be provocative and will be seen as an escalation. We don’t do that,” Marcos told reporters on Tuesday when asked if the government plans to send Navy warships. “We are not at war, we don’t need Navy warships.”
Marcos made the remarks after the Philippines accused the China Coast Guard last week of using water cannon twice and a Chinese Navy ship of doing “dangerous maneuvers” against Filipino vessels around the disputed Scarborough Shoal. China has said it implemented control measure after Philippine ships “dangerously approached” its patrol vessels.
The Philippines also said earlier that a Chinese Navy chopper harassed Filipino fishing boats at a contested reef.
The recent maritime encounters are “entirely caused by the Philippines’ persistent infringement and provocation,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a regular news briefing in Beijing on Tuesday. “China will continue to firmly uphold its sovereignty in accordance with the law.”
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SOURCE: www.gcaptain.com
RELATED: Manila to continue resupply missions in S. China Sea, won’t escalate tension
BUSINESS WORLD ONLINE | Published December 10, 2024
PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on Tuesday said the Philippines would continue its resupply missions in the South China Sea without the need to deploy the navy, despite a recent incident with Chinese vessels.
“We are not at war, we don’t need navy warships,” he told reporters in Bulacan province. “All we are doing is resupplying our fishermen, protecting our territorial rights.”
At the weekend, Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tristan Tarriela told a forum that deploying a warship could be a “policy option” for the Marcos government to deter Chinese harassment of fishermen, and Beijing blocking resupply missions to a disputed shoal in the waterway.
“We will never be part of an escalation in the West Philippine Sea,” Mr. Marcos said, referring to areas of the waterway within the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). “It will be provocative and will be seen as an escalation; we don’t do that.”
He added that the government would continue supporting Filipino fishermen.
On Dec. 4, Chinese Coast Guard vessels fired a water cannon and side-swiped a Manila Fishery bureau boat transporting supplies to Filipino fishermen operating near Scarborough Shoal, a prime fishing patch, according to Philippine officials.
Philippine Coast Guard vessels also faced “blocking, shadowing and dangerous maneuvers” from a Chinese navy vessel.
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SOURCE: www.bworldonline.com
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