Philippines not in business of starting wars, President Marcos tells soldiers

By John Victor D. Ordoñez, Reporter

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. said on Sunday the Philippines is not in the business of instigating wars and would always aim to settle disputes peacefully, amid worsening confrontations with China at sea.

“In defending the nation, we stay true to our Filipino nature that we would like to settle all these issues peacefully,” he said in a speech to troops of the Western Command unit in charge of overseeing the South China Sea.

The Chinese embassy in Manila did not immediately reply to a Viber message seeking comment.

The Philippine military chief last week said bolo-wielding Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) men were behind the June 17 aborted resupply mission for Filipino troops stationed at Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea.

Second Thomas Shoal has been a flashpoint in recent months between the countries. The atoll lies within the Philippines’ 200-nautical mile maritime zone, which China also claims as its own.

Combined forces from China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy, coast guard and maritime militia worked together to stop the delivery of food and other supplies, with Chinese rigid hull inflatable boats ramming the rubber boats of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), military chief Romeo S. Brawner, Jr. said.

He added that Chinese forces aboard the inflatable boats were holding bolos while they were going after two AFP rubber boats trying to deliver supplies to BRP Sierra Madre, a World War II-era ship that Manila grounded at the shoal in 1999 to bolster its maritime claim.

A Filipino sailor lost his thumb, and vessels were damaged during the encounter, he said.

China has disputed the Philippine account, with a Foreign Ministry spokesperson saying on Thursday that lawful measures had been taken.

Mr. Marcos, who did not name China in his speech, commended the troops for exercising restraint “amidst intense provocation,” and said his country would always exercise its freedoms and rights in line with international law.

“In the performance of our duties, we will not resort to the use of force or intimidation, or deliberately inflict injury or harm to anyone,” he said. “We stand firm. Our calm and peaceful disposition should not be mistaken for acquiescence.”

Recent maritime run-ins between China and the Philippines, a US treaty ally in Southeast Asia, have made the highly strategic South China Sea a potential flashpoint between Washington and Beijing.

The United States has condemned China’s actions and reaffirmed its ironclad defense commitments against any attack on Philippine aircraft or vessels in the South China Sea under their Mutual Defense Treaty.

But the Philippines on Friday said there was no reason to invoke the treaty because China’s actions, which security officials have described as escalatory, could not be classified as an “armed attack.”

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual shipborne commerce, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.

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In 2016, a United Nations-backed tribunal in the Hague voided China’s claims for being illegal.

“We are not in the business to instigate wars, Mr. Marcos said. “Our great ambition is to provide a peaceful and prosperous life for every Filipino. We refuse to play by the rules that force us to choose sides in a great power competition.”

Mr. Marcos should meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping to look for solutions to worsening tensions said Chester B. Cabalza, founder of Manila-based International Development and Security Cooperation.        

“Presidents Marcos and Xi should sit down and talk about mechanisms on how to de-escalate the tension in the West Philippine Sea and lay down a mutual agreement to halt further escalation of war,” he said in a Facebook Messenger chat.

He also said the Philippines should continue pushing joint resupply missions with its international allies if China refuses to cooperate.

Relations between the Philippines and China have soured under Mr. Marcos, who has pursued closer security ties with the US and other allies amid China’s growing assertiveness at sea.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week spoke with Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique A. Manalo on the phone to discuss Chinese actions in the South China Sea, which Manila and Washington have called escalatory.

Mr. Blinken said China’s actions “undermine regional peace and stability” and reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to its Mutual Defense Treaty with Manila.

“Dialogue is always going to be part of the policy of engagement between Manila and Beijing,” Don Mclain Gill, who teaches international relations at De La Salle University, said via Messenger chat. “What matters is that we continue and do not leave any gaps in our missions.”

“The Philippines has always stressed keeping all lines of communication with Beijing open,” Mr. Gill said. “However, China is becoming increasingly intolerant of any form of resupply.” — with Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza and Reuters