Marcos said the Philippines does not want to cause trouble but will defend its waters against Chinese aggression.
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine President on Friday said his country does not want confrontation but will firmly defend its waters after the country’s coast guard removed a floating fence placed by China on disputed shoals in the East Sea.
This is the first time President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
spoke out publicly against China’s installation of a 300-meter fence at the entrance to Scarborough Shoal, which was removed on his orders.
“We don’t want to cause trouble, but what we will do is continue to protect the maritime territory of the Philippines and the rights of our fishermen who have been fishing in these areas for hundreds of years.” , Mr.Marcos said.
question during a press conference in the southern province of Surigao del Norte.
The latest flare-up of tensions between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea, one of the world’s busiest trade routes, comes after Marcos decided earlier this year to allow the expansion of the US military presence to Philippines under the 2014 defense treaty.
The prospect of additional US forces at local military camps in the northern Philippines, facing Taiwan and southern China, has worried and angered Beijing.
Marcos said that after the Philippine Coast Guard removed the rope and net fence at the mouth of Scarborough Reef, Philippine fishing boats entered the shallow lagoon and caught about 164 tons of fish in one day.
“This is what our fishermen are losing, so there should be no barriers there and clearly this area belongs to the Philippines,” he said.
“Our fishermen have been fishing in these areas for hundreds of years so I don’t understand why it has changed.
A Philippine surveillance aircraft deployed on Thursday detected two Chinese coast guard vessels closely guarding the entrance to the shoal, making it still difficult for Filipino fishermen to access the fishing lagoon, the coast guard said.
the sign said Friday.Press Conference.
Amid China’s efforts to downplay the Philippine Coast Guard’s disabling of the fence, Tarriela showed reporters one of two metal anchors he said the Philippine Coast Guard recently removed.
dismantled from Scarborough entrance to take down fencing.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a news conference in Beijing on Wednesday that the shoal “is China’s inherent territory”.
“What the Philippines did was nothing more than a joke to entertain the people.
China will continue to protect the territorial sovereignty, maritime rights and interests of Huangyan Island,” he said, using the Chinese name Scarborough.
Although Marcos has tried to maintain normal relations with China, long-simmering territorial disputes have put the Asian neighbors at risk of conflict, with the Philippine leader vowing that his country will not give up even “an inch” of territory in this strategy.Waterway.
Marcos’ more confrontational stance contrasts with that of his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, who maintained close ties with China and Russia while frequently criticizing US and Western security policies .
Under Marcos, who took office last year, the Philippines has stepped up efforts to counter China’s increasingly aggressive actions in one of the world’s most contested waters.
The Philippine Coast Guard often invites journalists to join patrols to expose what it calls Chinese intimidation in this busy waterway.
Besides China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan are also entangled in territorial disputes in the South China Sea, which has long been considered a potential flashpoint in Asia and a fragile boundary in the East Sea.
competition between the US and the US.
China.area.
Washington does not claim sovereignty over the waterway, but US Navy ships and warplanes have conducted patrols for decades to challenge China’s sweeping claims and promote freedom.
maritime and aviation
They warned that they were obligated to defend the Philippines under a 1951 mutual defense treaty if Philippine forces, ships and aircraft were attacked, including in the South China Sea.
