Marcos vows to defend Philippines’ sovereignty amid China aggression

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has vowed to step up the nation’s protection of its maritime zones within the South China Sea after Filipino and Chinese language vessels collided over the weekend.

“We remain undeterred,” Marcos mentioned in a submit on X, previously Twitter.

“The aggression and provocations perpetrated by the China Coast Guard and their Chinese Maritime Militia against our vessels and personnel over the weekend have only further steeled our determination to defend and protect our nation’s sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea.”

CNBC has reached out to China’s overseas ministry for remark.

On Sunday, the Philippines accused China of inflicting “severe damage” to one in every of its vessels and ramming into one other.

China’s Coast Guard “directly targeted” Filipino vessels, “disabling the vessel and seriously endangering the lives of its crew,” in accordance with a press release by the Philippines Maritime Job Pressure, shared by Jay Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea.

The Filipino vessels had been a part of a convoy on a resupply mission to Second Thomas Shoal, the place Filipino troopers dwell on a grounded warship within the submerged reef within the Spratly Islands within the South China Sea.

The incident comes because the Philippines stepped up its resistance this yr in opposition to China’s aggressive claims and projection of energy over virtually your entire waterway that Manila calls the West Philippine Sea.

Different Southeast Asian international locations like Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam additionally declare components of the South China Sea. In 2016, the Everlasting Courtroom of Arbitration at The Hague ruled that China’s expansive claims within the South China Sea haven’t any authorized foundation.

A spokesperson for the Philippines’ Division of Overseas Affairs mentioned at a press convention on Monday in Manila that the Chinese language ambassador has been summoned. The Philippines additionally lodged diplomatic protests with the Chinese language Ministry of Overseas Affairs, Maria Teresita Daza mentioned.

A China Coast Guard spokesperson said Sunday the Philippines was “entirely” chargeable for the “deliberate collision” and ignored China’s repeated dissuasion and warnings by “insisting” on sending 4 vessels to ship provides to the warship that Beijing mentioned was illegally “sitting on the beach.”

The U.S. State Division threw its weight behind the Philippines, accusing Chinese language ships of “reckless maneuvers, including forcing a collision.”

According to the U.S. State Department, a separate incident on the Scarborough Reef on Saturday used acoustic units, incapacitating the Filipino crew members, and drove away Philippine fishing vessels.

“As reflected in an international tribunal’s legally binding decision issued in July 2016, the PRC has no lawful maritime claims to the waters around Second Thomas Shoal, and Filipinos are entitled to traditional fishing rights around Scarborough Reef,” mentioned State Division spokesperson Matthew Miller.