Won’t back down, Philippines says after clash with Chinese coast guard
Our goal is not to start wars, Marcos told the Philippine armed forces. In defending the nation, we remain true to our Filipino nature and aim to resolve all these issues peacefully | Photo: Shutterstock.com
The Philippines’ president said Sunday his country will not yield to any foreign power after Chinese troops injured Philippine naval personnel and damaged at least two military boats with machetes, axes and hammers during a clash in the disputed South China Sea. would never provoke a war.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. flew his top generals and defense chief to the western island province of Palawan, which overlooks the South China Sea, to meet and present medals to naval personnel who were attacked by the Chinese coast guard on Monday as they tried to get food and other supplies. delivering supplies to an outpost on the hotly contested Second Thomas Shoal.
Videos and photos of the chaotic confrontation made public by the military showed Chinese coast guard personnel hitting a Philippine navy boat with a wooden bar and seizing a bag, while sounding sirens and using blinding flashlights.
The Chinese government said the coast guard was forced to take action after Philippine troops defied warnings not to stray into what China calls its own offshore territory, a claim long rejected by rival governments and international arbitrators.
The violent confrontation sparked condemnation and alarm from the US, European Union, Japan, Australia and other Western and Asian countries, while China and the Philippines blamed each other for inciting the confrontation. Marcos’ top advisers said Friday that his government has no plans to invoke the country’s mutual defense treaty with the United States.
Our goal is not to start wars, Marcos told the Philippine armed forces. In defending the nation, we remain true to our Filipino nature and intend to resolve all these issues peacefully.
During Monday’s confrontation on the shoal, Marcos said we had made a conscious and deliberate choice to stay on the path of peace. Philippine Navy Special Operations Group personnel who were attacked used only their bare hands to push back the Chinese, some of whom pointed knives at them, Philippine military chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said.
We stand firm. Our calm and peaceful disposition should not be confused with resignation, Marcos said. “History itself can tell us that we have never, ever in the history of the Philippines, yielded to any foreign power.”
Chinese officials in Manila and Beijing did not immediately comment on Marcos’ comments.
Marcos praised about 80 officers and personnel involved in Monday’s supply mission, including one who lost his right thumb during the clash on the high seas, saying they exercised utmost restraint amid intense provocations. He appealed: continue to fulfill your duty to defend the nation with integrity and respect, as you have done so far.
The territorial disputes, involving China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan, have long been seen as a flashpoint that could pit the US against China if confrontations on the high seas escalate into armed conflict.
Washington has repeatedly warned that it is obliged to defend the Philippines, Asia’s oldest treaty ally, if Philippine forces are attacked, including in the South China Sea.
Indonesian forces have also opened fire on Chinese fishing boats during previous clashes in the waters off the Natuna Islands on the edge of the South China Sea.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
First print: June 23, 2024 | 1:02 PM IST