Philippines' Marcos vows response to China's 'attacks'

28/3/2024 18:09

        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.
        
        Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Facebook, "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.".
        
        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.