MANILA: President Ferdinand Marcos said Monday (May 6) the Philippines would not respond in kind to China’s deployment of water cannons against its vessels, ruling out the use of “offensive” equipment as Manila asserts its sovereignty in the disputed South China Sea.
Beijing has dispatched hundreds of coast guard and other vessels to press its claims over most of the vital waterway despite an international tribunal ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.
In the latest confrontation on Apr 30, Manila said the China Coast Guard damaged a Philippine Coast Guard ship and another government vessel with a high-pressure water cannon as the boats were bringing fuel, food and water to Filipino fishermen at Scarborough Shoal.
“We will not follow the Chinese Coast Guard and the Chinese vessels down that road,” Marcos said Monday when asked if Manila would start using the water cannons on its own coast guard vessels to retaliate.
“It’s not the mission of our navy, our coast guard to start or to increase tensions … We have no intention of attacking anyone with water cannons or any other such offensive (equipment).”
Marcos added that “the last thing” the Philippines wanted was “to raise the tensions” in the disputed waters.
