Marcos: Killing of Filipino in WPS 'very close to an act of war'

SINGAPORE - That's what we define as an act of war. 

This was the description of President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. as regards a Filipino serviceman or citizen being killed in the West Philippine Sea. 

During the question and answer portion of the 2024 IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, he was asked if it would be considered crossing the red line when a Filipino sailor will be killed due to the water cannon attacks of China Coast Guard in the region. 

''If there's an incident that ended up killing a Filipino serviceman, be they a Coast Guard or in the military, part of the Navy, that would certainly increase the level of response,'' Marcos said. 

''If by a willful act, a Filipino, not only serviceman or any a Filipino citizen, if a Filipino citizen is killed by a willful act, that is I think a very very close to what we define us act of war,'' he added. 

Marcos said the government would respond accordingly over this kind of action, noting that this would certainly ''cross the Rubicon.''

''Once we have already --- we already have suffered injury, but thank God, we have not yet gotten to the point where any of our participants, civilian or otherwise have been killed,'' he said.

''But once we get to that point, that is certainly we would have crossed the Rubicon and certainly crossed the Rubicon. Is that a red line? Almost certainly it’s going to be a red line,'' Marcos added.

In the same question and answer portion, Marcos was also asked for comment by Major General Xu Hui, president of the International College of Defense Studies, on whether there is a risk of ruining long-earned peace in the region due to the Philippines' behavior in recent days. 

Marcos then reiterated the Philippines' commitment to ASEAN centrality, which is among the core elements of the country's foreign policy.

''Well, I cannot imagine what you must be referring to, if the reference or the allusion is to the Philippines somehow tearing apart what we have agreed on in terms of ASEAN Centrality. Quite the contrary,'' he said. 

''I think if you examine more closely the remarks that I just made, I precisely focused on ASEAN Centrality and that the principles that are laid down, that are involved in the concept of ASEAN Centrality are something that we must use to guide us,'' he added.

Marcos earlier said the Philippine government would never resort to using water cannons in defending the country’s territory. 

In an ambush interview early this month, Marcos said he does not want to aggravate the already tense situation in the West Philippine Sea  following the China Coast Guard's harassment on Philippine vessels, the latest of which took place last week and involved the use of water cannons. —LDF, GMA Integrated News