By Brian Jules Campued
The national government will continue defending the Philippine maritime territory amid China’s incursions in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said on Wednesday.
Marcos told reporters during a media interview on the sidelines of his working visit to Germany that there is nothing new with President Xi Jinping’s recent statement calling on China’s armed forces to coordinate for possible conflicts erupting at sea.
“That’s what they’ve been doing already. They have defined the 10-Dash line…and for our part continue to defend what we (have)…and the international community has recognized as our maritime territory,” he said.
“So, I’m not surprised, but we will have to continue to do what we can to defend our maritime territory in the face of perhaps a more active attempt by the Chinese to annex some of our territory,” the President added.
Marcos made the statement after Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo confirmed that United States Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will meet him on March 19 to discuss cooperation and security matters.
According to Malacañang, the Philippines has been intensifying its security cooperation with the US and Japan as the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) personnel and Filipino fisherfolk faced constant harassment from Chinese maritime forces.
During a bilateral meeting with Scholz in Berlin on Tuesday, the Chief Executive stressed the importance for like-minded nations to “present a united front against unilateral attempts to take territory from any other country”.
Marcos also acknowledged Germany’s assistance in securing the country’s maritime domain, including through capacity-building of PCG and training of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Meanwhile, Scholz emphasized the need to adhere to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea as well as ensure freedom of navigation in the contested waters.
The Chancellor likewise assured Marcos of Germany’s continued support and their commitment to enhance maritime cooperation with the Philippines, including other cooperative efforts between the two countries.
“So, we are willing to increase this, and all the other cooperation we are having,” Scholz told Marcos. – avds
