South China Sea: Marcos says Philippines will not cede ‘one square inch’ of territory

Marcos told Australia’s parliament that protecting the South China Sea was ‘crucial to the preservation of regional and global peace’

The president also vowed to firmly defend Manila’s sovereignty amid maritime disputes with Beijing

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Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr arrives to speak at the Australian parliament in Canberra on Thursday. Photo: AAP Image via AP

Published: 9:18am, 29 Feb 2024Updated: 1:16pm, 29 Feb 2024

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr told the Australian parliament on Thursday he would not allow any foreign power to take “one square inch” of the country’s territory, and that Manila was firm in defending its sovereignty.

Australia and the Philippines began their first joint sea and air patrols in the South China Sea in November, aimed at countering an increasingly assertive China, which claims the entire sea as its own.

“I will not allow any attempt by any foreign power to take even one square inch of our sovereign territory,” Marcos said in the address.

“The challenges that we face may be formidable, but equally formidable is our resolve. We will not yield.”

The South China Sea is a conduit for more than US$3 trillion worth of ship-borne commerce each year, and is a major source of tension between the Philippines and China.

Manila accuses Beijing of committing aggressive acts inside its exclusive economic zone (EEZ); an international arbitration tribunal in The Hague said in 2016 that China’s claims inside the Philippines’ EEZ had no legal basis – a decision Beijing has rejected. China has chided the Philippines for encroaching on what it says is its territory.