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Philippines ‘not on a war footing’ with Beijing despite South China Sea tensions
- Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo says the Philippines is just trying to protect its sovereignty in its exclusive economic zone
- Manalo calls on China to show proof of the Philippines’ ‘promise’ to tow away the warship in Second Thomas Shoal
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The Philippines has stressed it is not on a “war footing” with Beijing amid heightened tensions in the contested South China Sea, where senators want the country to build permanent structures on a reef to assert its sovereignty.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s administration was committed to resolving the long-running dispute peacefully, when a lawmaker asked him if it was wise for Manila to be on a war footing in response to China’s behaviour towards Philippine boats in the resource-rich waterway.
China’s coastguard earlier this month blocked and fired water cannons at Philippine vessels carrying supplies for Filipino troops stationed on a derelict warship in Second Thomas Shoal.
“We are not on a war footing. What we are simply doing is trying to actually protect our sovereignty in our EEZ [exclusive economic zone] through diplomatic and peaceful means,” Manalo told lawmakers during his department’s budget hearing.
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He added the resupply mission was for humanitarian purposes and had no other motive behind it.
The Philippines intentionally grounded the BRP Sierra Madre in 1999 to reinforce its sovereignty claim to Second Thomas Shoal, which Manila calls Ayungin.
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The second world war-era ship has further inflamed the already strained ties between the two sides, with China telling the Philippines to follow through on its “promise” to tow away the vessel.
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