The Philippines will implement countermeasures, proportionate and reasonable, against illegal, coercive, aggressive, and dangerous attacks by China's coastguard and maritime militia in the South China Sea. This is according to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in response to the frequent face-off in disputed waters in the west Philippines, damaging Philippine vessel and injuring personnel on board.
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, Marcos posted on Facebook, a strong response from the president itself after dialogues with local and international agency and partners.
Though the Philippines, did not specify what the countermeasures would include. But it could lead to military confrontation which spark war in the troubled waters.
Marcos said he met his defense and security officials and has been in communication with "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.
The deterioration in relations with China come at a time when Marcos seeks to deepen defense ties with the United States. He has increased U.S. access to Philippine military bases and joint exercises have been expanded to include sea and air patrols over the South China Sea.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin last week reaffirmed Washington's commitment to a 1951 mutual defense treaty with the Philippines and criticized as dangerous China's actions at the Second Thomas Shoal.
In a phone call on Wednesday with his Philippine counterpart Gilberto Teodoro, Austin "reaffirmed the ironclad U.S. commitment to the Philippines" which it said was undertaking a lawful resupply mission.
The Philippine-U.S. treaty binds both countries to defend each other if under attack and includes coastguard, civilian and military vessels in the South China Sea.
China warned the Philippines to behave cautiously and seek dialogue, saying their relations were at a crossroads as confrontations between their coastguards over maritime claims worsened tensions.
The latest incident near Second Thomas Shoal occurred frequently during a regular Philippine mission to resupply Filipino troops garrisoned on the Sierra Madre, a navy ship that was grounded there in 1999.
The Philippines said the Chinese coastguard blocked its supply vessel and damaged it with water cannon, injuring three soldiers in the latest encounter.
China’s coastguard has defended its actions, describing them as “lawful regulation, interception and expulsion” of a foreign vessel that “tried to forcefully intrude” into Chinese waters. Second Thomas Shoal, lies about 200 kilometers from the western Philippine Island of Palawan, and more than 1,000 kilometers from China’s southern Hainan Island.
China has urged Manila to pull back from the brink and stop provoking trouble at sea. In a statement, China Will Not Allow the Philippines to Act Willfully, Beijing’s Ministry of National Defense blamed the provocations by the Philippine side for the increased tensions.
Relying on the backing of external forces, the Philippine side has frequently infringed on rights and provoked and created trouble at sea, as well as spreading false information to mislead the international community’s perception of the issue, which is, so to speak, going further and further down a dangerous road, the statement added.
Join this channel to get access to perks:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuCwi7OhBOCvHDKHUS3m_1Q/join