BAGUIO CITY – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Saturday that the country will “vigorously defend what is ours” as tensions with China over maritime issues worsen.
In a speech to graduating military cadets here in the Philippine Military Academy, Marcos condemned the use of “weapons of mass distraction” by parties attempting to create divisions within the country.
“What we are facing now are a blatant disregard of internationally accepted principles and deployment of weapons of mass distraction by parties who seek to drive a wedge between a united citizenry,” Marcos said, adding that the Filipino people are not easily deceived and can see through such schemes.
“These attempts to divert our attention, dissipate our energy better spent on making the country should not draw us away from the urgent tasks ahead,” Marcos said.
Hence, Marcos said the laws and the obligation as a law-abiding member of the international community shall direct action against intruders who disregard the country’s territorial integrity.
Marcos then called the new cadets to make a collective action against outdated ideologies and external intrusions.
“You are now inductees in the national effort to attain the following: Against parties whose fossilized ideas have been rejected by a people tired of war, no quarter will be given, but we offer peace, of the principled kind that will uproot the causes of social discontent,” Marcos said..
“Against intruders who have been disrespecting our territorial integrity, we will vigorously defend what is ours, but our conduct is always guided by law and [by] our responsibility as a rules-abiding member of the community of nations,” Marcos added.
President Marcos Jr. also told the new cadets to adapt and be ready in facing evolving threats “that harm our people and corrode social and political trust.”
While Marcos did not name the invaders, but there have been increasing standoffs between Beijing and Manila in the South China Sea. These have included China’s use of water cannon, which has caused property damage and injuries, a military-grade laser pointed at Philippine ships, and what the Philippines refers to as “dangerous manoeuvres” in the disputed waterway.
With portions claimed by the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam, China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, a conduit for $3 trillion in yearly ship-borne trade. China’s broad claims are unfounded legally, according to a 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration decision (TCSP)
