The Philippines government has announced measures to protect the country’s sovereignty and maritime rights in order to ensure stability in the region.
In a post on X, Philippines president Ferdinand Marcos Junior said, “Over the course of these past days, I have met with and spoken to our country’s National Security and Defense leadership. They have made their considered recommendations and, through exhaustive consultations, I have given them my directives.
I have also been in constant communication with representatives of relevant allies, partners, and friends in the international community.”
The government will implement proportionate and reasonable measures against “illegal, coercive, aggressive, and dangerous attacks” by China’s coast guard and maritime militia in the South China Sea, he added.
The announcement comes at a time when there have been repeated clashes with China in the South China Sea. Recently, two Chinese coast guard ships fired at a Philippine supply boat with water cannons on Saturday in the latest confrontation near a disputed shoal, causing heavy damage to the wooden vessel, Philippine officials said.
The shoal has been occupied by a small contingent of Philippine navy personnel on a marooned warship since the late 1990s, but has recently been surrounded by Chinese coast guard and suspected militia vessels in an increasingly tense territorial standoff.
Marcos reiterated that Manila would want to avoid conflict.
“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,” he noted.
Foreign minister S Jaishankar who recently visited the Philippines stated that India “firmly supported” Manila in upholding its national sovereignty. He also added that in days to come India was prepared to “step up its engagement with the Philippines” in the fields of trade and investment, health and food security, defence, and maritime cooperation.
