HEADLINE | Marcos: Philippines will not lose an inch of territory
“This country will not lose an inch of its territory. We will continue to uphold our territorial integrity and sovereignty in accordance with our Constitution and with international law. We will work with our neighbors to secure the safety and security of our peoples,” Marcos said in a speech before alumni of the Philippine Military Academy here. / CSIS / AMTI via Maxar Technologies
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FORT DEL PILAR, BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — The country “will not lose an inch of territory,” President Marcos insisted yesterday, as Beijing continued to defend its latest act of intimidation in the West Philippine Sea directed at a Philippine Coast Guard vessel on a mission to help resupply a remote military outpost on Ayungin Shoal.
“This country will not lose an inch of its territory. We will continue to uphold our territorial integrity and sovereignty in accordance with our Constitution and with international law. We will work with our neighbors to secure the safety and security of our peoples,” Marcos said in a speech before alumni of the Philippine Military Academy here.
“The country has seen heightened geopolitical tensions that do not conform to our ideals of peace and threaten the security and stability of the country, of the region and of the world,” Marcos said.
Memento Maxima Digital MarketingManila earlier this week protested what it called Beijing’s “aggressive activities” in the West Philippine Sea that have stoked a long-running maritime dispute.
Beijing’s embassy in Manila did not respond to a request for comment. China’s foreign ministry had said its coast guard conducted actions according to law.
On Tuesday, Marcos summoned China’s envoy to express his “serious concern” over Beijing’s “increasing frequency and intensity of actions” against the Philippine Coast Guard and Filipino fishermen in the West Philippine Sea.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) filed a diplomatic protest against Beijing over China coast guard’s beaming a military-grade laser on BRP Malapascua, which was supporting a resupply mission to troops stationed on the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal. The Chinese coast guards’ use of the powerful laser temporarily blinded Malapascua’s crew on the bridge.
In an interview after the PMA event, Marcos was asked what prompted him to summon Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian to Malacañang on Tuesday. The President said the laser-pointing incident was only a part of the “intensifying or escalating” actions of the maritime militia, coast guard and the navy of China.
“Actually, I said we have to find a way around this because if we are such close friends, these are not the kind of incidents that we should be talking about between the President and the Ambassador to the Philippines from China,” Marcos said.
“And I reminded him that this was not what we agreed upon with President Xi when I visited him in Beijing,” he said.
Manila and Beijing signed an agreement to establish a communication mechanism on maritime issues between the DFA and the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China during Marcos’ state visit to Beijing from Jan. 3 to 5 this year.
“We are hoping that we can find a better way rather than these incursions into our maritime territory and the rather aggressive acts that we have been seeing in the past few weeks and months,” Marcos said.
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