The Philippines’ commitment to defending its sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea has not changed despite its policy of non-belligerence, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said yesterday.
His clarification came amid perceptions of a softer tone on the WPS issue in his recent State of the Nation Address, followed by the Chinese government’s criticisms directed towards him.
“There is no shift in tone,” Mr. Marcos said in his BBM Podcast, responding to comparisons between his earlier remarks, including his 2022 vow that “not an inch of our territory will be abandoned” and his latest SONA, where he said the country is “a friend to all and an enemy to none.”
He stressed that asserting the Philippines’ territorial claims does not conflict with maintaining a foreign policy that seeks to avoid confrontation.
“Continuing to defend strongly our territory is not mutually exclusive from being a friend to all and an enemy of none,” he said.
“We will defend our sovereignty and territory. You can do both,” he added.
The president reaffirmed his support for a binding code of conduct in the South China Sea, which he said would establish clear rules for all parties and reduce tensions.
The Philippine leader’s clarification came even as Beijing called him out over his recent remark that “the Philippines has to get involved” should a full-scale war between the United States and China erupt over a possible Taiwan invasion.
In a statement, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun insisted that “Taiwan is an inalienable part of China” and settling the “Taiwan question” is a “matter for the Chinese ourselves, which brooks no interference.”
China claims Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring it under its control.
In an interview with Indian media outlet Firstpost on the sidelines of Mr. Marcos’ state visit, the President said it would be inevitable for the Philippines to engage to be able to protect Philippine territory as well as the Filipinos living in Taiwan.
“To be very practical about it, if there is confrontation over Taiwan between China and the United States, there is no way that the Philippines can stay out of it simply because of our physical, geographic location,” he said Wednesday.
Meanwhile, three China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels have been spotted patrolling both sides of Batanes, effectively “bracketing” the northernmost Philippine province, according to maritime security tracker SeaLight.
SeaLight director Ray Powell said CCG ship 4304 was located about 60 nautical miles west of Batanes, while ships 3301 and 3304 were positioned roughly 70 nautical miles to the east.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) Thursday night, Powell described the movement as a “bracketing pattern,” where vessels are deployed on opposite sides.
When asked on Friday if the CCG vessels were still in a bracketing pattern, Powell said, “Yes, bracketing in the sense that they are patrolling both east and west sides of Batanes.”
“I think this is really significant, as I’ve never seen CCG conduct an intrusive patrol on the east side of the Philippine archipelago before,” said Powell, program head of Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation.
As this developed, Pangasinan fisherfolk recovered an underwater drone in waters off Pangasinan, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Friday.
“The Philippine Coast Guard has confirmed the recovery of an alleged underwater drone by local fishermen in Bolinao, Pangasinan,” PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, Commodore Jay Tarriela, said in a statement.
He said the object was found on Wednesday, approximately 149 nautical miles northwest of Bolinao town.
The drone was described as measuring approximately 160 centimeters in length, 20 inches in width, and weighing around 100 kilograms.
The alleged underwater drone was surrendered to the appropriate authorities for further investigation and analysis, Tarriela said.
