Marcos says Philippines ‘cannot yield’ in South China Sea dispute

Philippine president makes remarks as Beijing and Manila announce a provisional deal to defuse tensions at the Second Thomas Shoal.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr says his country will not yield or waver on its stand on territorial disputes in the South China Sea as he calls for tensions in the strategic waterway to be settled through diplomatic channels.

Marcos made the remarks in his annual state of the nation address to Congress on Monday as the Philippines and China seek to defuse friction after a series of violent clashes in the contested waters.

Without naming China, Marcos said the Philippines will address challenges to its territorial sovereignty in the South China Sea, known as the West Philippine Sea in Manila, by asserting “our rights and interests in the same fair and pacific way that we have always done”.

The Philippines will continue to “find ways to de-escalate tensions in contested areas … without compromising our position and our principles”, he said

“The Philippines cannot yield. The Philippines cannot waver,” he said, receiving a standing ovation when he declared, “The West Philippine Sea … is ours.”

The Philippine president’s speech came a day after Manila and Beijing announced reaching a “provisional arrangement” for resupply missions to Filipino troops stationed at the contested Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea.

China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, including the Second Thomas Shoal, where the Philippines maintains a rusty naval ship to reinforce its own maritime claims.

Filipino and Chinese troops have clashed violently at the submerged reef in recent months, fuelling fears of a conflict that could drag in the United States owing to its mutual defence treaty with Manila.

Provisional agreement

Neither China nor the Philippines have provided details of the provisional arrangement, but Manila said on Monday that it “will not prejudice our respective national positions”.

“In our desire to de-escalate the situation in the South China Sea to manage differences in a peaceful manner, we emphasize that the agreement was done in good faith and the Philippines remains ready to implement it,” the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

“We urge China to do the same.”

China confirmed a “provisional agreement” with the two sides agreeing to jointly manage maritime differences and de-escalate the situation.

Beijing, which has maintained its actions in the waterway have been lawful, reiterated its demand on Monday for the Philippines to tow away the grounded warship and said it would not accept Manila shipping large amounts of building materials to the shoal.

“Between now and when the warship is towed away, should the Philippines need to send living necessities to the personnel living on the warship, China is willing to allow it in a humanitarian spirit if the Philippines informs China in advance and after on-site verification is conducted,” the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

The Philippines has previously said it was against informing China in advance about its resupply missions, which it maintains are lawful, and said this had not changed under the new deal despite the statement from the Chinese ministry.

“The principles and approaches laid out in the agreement were reached through a series of careful and meticulous consultations between both sides that paved the way for a convergence of ideas without compromising national positions,” the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said.

“The spokesperson’s statement, therefore, regarding prior notification and on-site confirmation is inaccurate,” it added.

China rejects a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague that Beijing’s expansive claims in the South China Sea have no basis under international law. The case was brought to the court by the Philippines.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said the temporary arrangement with the Philippines on the delivery of humanitarian supplies “reflects China’s goodwill”.