President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday said he had no intention of ordering the placement of water cannons on Filipino-owned vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
In a media interview, Mr. Marcos said the Philippines will not follow the footsteps of the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) and Chinese vessels in escalating the tension in the maritime region.
“No. What we are doing is defending our sovereign rights and our sovereignty in the WPS. And we have no intention of attacking anyone with water cannons or any other such offensive, we have to call them weapon because they are already causing damage. So no, that is not something that’s in the plan,” the President said in a mix of English and Filipino.
“The last thing we want is to escalate tensions in the West Philippine Sea. That’s the last thing. And that would do that, so we won’t do it,” he added.
The chief executive vowed the administration would continue to file protests against China’s aggressive behavior in the WPS.
“Whenever something happens, they use water cannons on our ships, we send a demarche, we send a letter to China and other stakeholders,” the President said.
On April 30, the Philippine Coast Guard reported CCG’s use of water cannons and aggressive maneuvers against the country’s vessels conducting patrol in the region.