June 23. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The president of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., has assured that his country has no intention of using “force” to resolve the territorial conflict it has open with China in the waters of the South China Sea, the scene of successive clashes. between ships from both countries for months.
“We are not in the business of instigating wars; our great ambition is to provide a peaceful and prosperous life for all Filipinos. This is the tone to which we march, this is the principle by which we live,” the president declared in a speech before a group of soldiers in the province of Palawan, the closest to the disputed Spratly Islands.
One of the latest episodes of this tension took place on June 17, when the Chinese Coast Guard boarded several Philippine rubber boats that were on a resupply mission to a military post on the Second Thomas sandbar.
Manila accused Chinese authorities of confiscating weapons, drilling ships and ramming boats, causing a Filipino to lose his thumb, but Beijing has maintained their actions were professional and legal.
“We refuse to follow the rules,” added the president in statements reported by the ABS-CBN network, “which force us to choose sides in a competition between great powers.” Marcos has also assured that “no government that claims to serve the people should endanger their lives or their means of subsistence.”
Add Comment