South China Sea: Philippines’ Marcos vows countermeasures to Chinese ‘attacks’, says Manila won’t be ‘cowed into silence’

Name: Chinese floating barrier blocks entrance to Philippine ships at South China Sea flashpoint
Uploaded: 2024-03-28T08:55:04.000Z
Duration: 1 min 49 s
Description: Chinese floating barrier blocks entrance to Philippine ships at South China Sea flashpoint

Manila has been furious over what it calls repeated aggression by China’s coastguard around disputed areas located inside its exclusive economic zone

The deterioration in relations with China come at a time when Marcos seeks to deepen defence ties with the United States

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President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr said the Philippines will not be “cowed into silence” by Beijing after confrontations in the South China Sea that injured Filipino troops and damaged vessels. Photo: Bloomberg

Reuters

Published: 4:55pm, 28 Mar 2024

The Philippines will implement countermeasures proportionate and reasonable against “illegal, coercive, aggressive, and dangerous attacks” by China’s coastguard and maritime militia in the South China Sea, President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr said on Thursday.

“We seek no conflict with any nation, more so nations that purport and claim to be our friends, but we will not be cowed into silence, submission, or subservience,” Marcos said on Facebook.

He did not specify what the countermeasures would include.

The Philippines has been furious in the past year over what it calls repeated aggression by China’s coastguard and allied fishing vessels around disputed features located inside Manila’s 200-mile exclusive economic zone.

The latest flare-up occurred last week, when China used water cannon to disrupt another Philippine resupply mission to the Second Thomas Shoal for soldiers posted to guard a warship intentionally grounded on a reef 25 years ago.

China, which claims almost the entire South China Sea as its own, has accused the Philippines of encroaching on its territory and says it took necessary measures against the vessels.

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Chinese floating barrier blocks entrance to Philippine ships at South China Sea flashpoint

China warned the Philippines on Monday to behave cautiously and seek dialogue, saying their relations were at a “crossroads” as confrontations between their coastguards over maritime claims worsened tensions.