President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday denied any proposition to prepare Philippine vessels watching the West Philippine Ocean (WPS) with water guns in the midst of progressing sea strains in the challenged locale. In a media interview subsequent to going to the 2024 Government-Claimed and Controlled Partnership (GOCC) Day, Marcos said that such measures would just demolish what is happening in the contested locale.
"No. What we are doing is guarding our sovereign privileges and power in the WPS. We have zero desire to go after anybody with water cannons or some other such hostile. We need to call them weapons since they can cause harm, so no, that isn't something in the arrangement," Marcos said. Specialists said last week that the water gun assault completed by China at Scarborough Reef, otherwise called Bajo de Masinloc had harmed Philippine vessels shipping food and fuel to anglers nearby.
In light of the new Chinese animosity, Senate Minority Pioneer Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III and Representative Robin Padilla proposed utilizing water guns to counter China's assaults. Marcos explained that raising strains isn't important for the Philippine Naval force or Coast Watchman's main goal and highlighted that political endeavors being sought after to determine sea episodes.
"The last thing we would like is to bring strains up in the WPS. That is the last thing. Also, that would positively do that, so we won't make it happen. We won't follow the Chinese Coast Gatekeeper and the Chinese vessels down that street since it's just not the mission of our naval force, our Coast Watchman to begin or increment pressures. Their central goal is unequivocally the inverse, to bring down strains."
"That is the reason, all we do is when occurrences occur, we send demarches, we send letters to China and different partners," he said, underlining that adding water cannons to Philippine vessels would be "something contrary to what we are attempting to accomplish." The Branch of International concerns (DFA) gathered the Chinese Consulate to Manila Vice president of Mission Zhou Zhiyong to address the new water cannon occurrence at Scarborough Reef.
In its dissent, the DFA censured the "badgering, smashing, amassing, shadowing, impeding, utilization of water guns, and other forceful activities by the China Coast Gatekeeper and Chinese Oceanic Civilian army against Philippine vessels." The office moreover "requested that Chinese vessels leave Bajo de Masinloc and its area right away."
China states claims over almost the whole South China Ocean, a fundamental course for more than $3 trillion in yearly boat borne exchange, including regions guaranteed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei. In 2016, the Super durable Court of Discretion decided that China's cases had no lawful premise. Notwithstanding, Beijing has wouldn't perceive the decision.