Marcos: Philippines wants peace in WPS but needs to respond

The Philippines wants to maintain peace in the West Philippine Sea but it needs to respond to what is happening in the area, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said on Thursday.

Marcos made the remark during the presentation of credentials in Malacañang by Endo Kazuya, Japan's new ambassador to Manila.

“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 at peace. That is what the Philippines will always work for,” Marcos said.

“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.

The China Coast Guard on March 23 trained a water cannon on a Philippine resupply ship and caused heavy damage to the boat en route to the Ayungin Shoal. Three sailors were hurt in the incident.

The boat was on a resupply mission to the BRP Sierra Madre, the decrepit Navy vessel that has been aground as the country's outpost in the area.

Days later, Marcos said that the Philippines would 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."

Marcos added that he had been in "constant communication" with representatives of allies, partners, and friends in the international community.

"They have offered to help us on what the Philippines requires to protect and secure our sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction while ensuring peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific. I have given them our requirements and we have been assured that they will be addressed," Marcos said.

China warned the Philippines that it was straying on what it called "a dangerous path" days after its coast guard trained water cannon and heavily damaged a boat on a resupply mission to the Ayungin Shoal. 

In a statement, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense said the Philippines should realize that provocative actions in the South China Sea would only do more harm than good and blamed the US for interference in the region.

"The Philippines’ harassment and provocations are the immediate cause of the recent escalation of the South China Sea issue," Wu Qian said. 

He said the Philippine side violated international law and the spirit of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC).

The Ayungin Shoal is well within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone which was upheld by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in July 2016.

The arbitral ruling invalidated China's historical claims in the arera.

Marcos welcomed the new Japanese ambassador ahead of a trilateral meeting in Washington with US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida next week to strengthen cooperation among the three countries.

He said Japan's support to the Philippines through training and equipment is important especially if supported by other allies such as Australia, the United States, Japan, and South Korea. 

Marcos emphasized the need to modify the way the Philippines and Japan conduct business with one another as there are now "additional dimensions" to the relationship, including security and defense. 

He said that the goal was to maintain open passage and trade in the South China Sea. 

“That’s all we wish for and so we are happy that once we try we have you as part of it,” Marcos said. —NB, GMA Integrated News