MANILA – President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has rejected the idea of deploying Philippine Navy warships in the West Philippine Sea to counter China’s presence.
In an ambush interview in Pampanga on Tuesday, the Chief Executive said he does not want the country to be part of escalation of possible war in the contested waters.
“The Philippines will never be part of an escalation in the situation,” President Marcos said. “We are not at war, we don’t need navy warships.”
“All we are doing is resupplying our fishermen, protecting our territorial rights. Again, it will be provocative and will be seen as an escalation – we don’t do that. The Philippines does not escalate tensions. Quite the opposite, the Philippines always tried to bring down the level of tension,” he added.
President Marcos further said the government would “continue to perform our mission” in the West Philippine Sea.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said last week that they are leaving it to President Marcos whether he will order the deployment of the Philippine warships to the WPS.
According to PCG spokesperson for WPS Commodore Jay Tarriela, the Chief Executive may consider sending naval ships into the country’s territorial waters as a “policy option” amid China’s continued harassment.
Tarriela added that while the Philippine Navy is monitoring the situation in the WPS, it does not interfere with the harassment of the China Coast Guard (CCG) and the Chinese maritime militia against the Filipino fishermen, the PCG and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).
On December 4, some Chinese vessels made aggressive actions against the Philippine vessels at the Bajo de Masinloc where PLAN vessels with bow numbers 500 and 571 also took part by tailing the PCG’s BRP Teresa Magbanua “at the very close distance of 300 yards.”
On the same day, the CCG harassed the BRP Melchora Aquino, BRP Cape Engaño and the BFAR vessels that were deployed at Escoda Shoal./PN
