MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday tagged China’s latest threat of detaining “trespassers” in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) an “act of escalation” amid the two countries’ long-standing territorial dispute over the waterway.
Speaking to the Philippine media delegation at the conclusion of his two-day state visit to Brunei Darussalam, Marcos said that Beijing’s new policy was “a worrisome development.”
“The new policy of threatening to detain our own citizens, that is different. That is an escalation of the situation. So, yes, it is now very worrisome,” he said
The Chief Executive issued the statement as a reaction to the four-month fishing ban China was now enforcing in the South China Sea, including parts of WPS.
He called this as the neighboring country’s “extension again of their claim that this is all the maritime territory of China.”
“So, it’s nothing new,” the President said. “There are sometimes fishing bans because it’s the season. And this is something that we have actually agreed upon before.”
To recall, Marcos called “completely unacceptable” China’s threat to apprehend fishermen who would encroach to what it claims are its borders.
The Philippine government, he reiterated, “will take whatever measures to always protect our citizens.”
