Marcos: Sending Navy vessels will only escalate WPS tensions

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. ruled out deploying Navy warships in response to China’s growing aggression in the West Philippine Sea.

“We are not at war. We don’t need Navy warships,” Mr. Marcos said.

The option to deploy gray ships was first floated after Chinese warships with bow numbers 500 and 571 tailed the Philippine Coast Guard’s BRP Teresa Magbanua “at the very close distance of 300 yards” on December 4.

PCG spokesperson for WPS Commodore Jay Tarriela, in the history of incursions of China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) in the WPS, it was the first time Chinese warships “interfered and participated in the harassment of a PCG vessel.”

On the same day, the CCG also harassed the BRP Melchora Aquino, BRP Cape Engaño and the BFAR vessels that were deployed at Escoda Shoal.

Mr. Marcos, however, said deploying warships would be seen as “provocative” and could escalate the situation.

“The Philippines does not escalate tensions. Quite the opposite, the Philippines always tries to bring down the level of tension,” the commander-in-chief said.

“All we are doing is resupplying our fishermen, protecting our territorial rights…We are going to continue to perform our mission. If we look at the evolution of the situation in the WPS, the Philippines has never been an agent of escalation of tensions,” he added.

Earlier, Tarriela said the deployment of warships to the WPS was a “policy option” and it was up to the President to decide on it.

“For the past three administrations, the Philippine Coast Guard has been chosen to be deployed to the West Philippine Sea because, for the past administrations, they believed it (deploying warships) is de-escalatory, non-provocative,” Tarriela said.

“(But) the Philippine Coast Guard, we can never replace the Philippine Navy with the issue of territorial defense. And it is very alarming in a way that (Chinese) warships are encroaching on our own exclusive economic zone,” he added.

National Security Council Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya likewise said the Philippines “reserves the right” to deploy its naval vessels in the wake of China’s latest hostile act in the WPS.

“We do not want to be sending signals to China that they can do what they want simply because we do not want to escalate. Now, it is they that first deployed the PLAN ship. Therefore, it is now, it is also within the rights of the Philippines and we reserve that right to deploy our PN ships in the future,” Malaya said.

Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline “Marcos won’t send warships to West Philippine Sea.”