Marcos: Philippines firm on sovereignty, seeks peaceful talks with China

Marcos acknowledged that the South China Sea “remains to be a point of contention” during his meeting with Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong in Hanoi.

Marcos’ state visit also witnessed the signing of memoranda of understanding on “incident prevention and management in the South China Sea” and on cooperation between the coast guards of the Philippines and Vietnam.

“We are firm in defending our sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction against these Chinese provocations,” Marcos said.

“But at the same time, we are also seeking to address these issues with China and all other partners through peaceful dialogue and consultations as two equal sovereign states,” he added.

The Philippines and China earlier agreed to improve communication and “calmly deal” with incidents in the strategically and economically important waterway.

Relations between the Philippines and China have deteriorated in recent months, with both sides clashing on several occasions in the disputed waters and trading accusations over the incidents.

Marcos also expressed his “great concern” over tensions across the Taiwan Strait to Thuong. He noted that any conflict in Taiwan would affect the northern parts of the Philippines and may compromise the safety of approximately 170,000 Filipinos working and residing on the democratic island.

Marcos’ congratulatory message to Taiwan’s president-elect Lai Ching-te earlier this month drew a sharp rebuke from Beijing. Philippine authorities, however, reiterated the country was committed to the One China policy.

Beijing claims Taiwan as its territory and has vowed to take the island one day—by force, if necessary.

— Gaea Katreena Cabico