PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. stressed the need to defend the country’s sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
In an interview before leaving for Australia on Wednesday, PBBM reiterated that the Philippine government’s stance on the WPS issue will not change.
“We just defend our maritime territory. We continue to support all of our fishermen, fisherfolks who make their living from these fishing grounds,” said Pres. Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
The President’s statement comes amid reports that China has allegedly increased its electronic communication jamming activities against Philippine naval vessels in the WPS.
He expressed concern about what he called aggressive maneuvers by Chinese nautical assets in the contested waters.
It has been reported that China is deploying Navy ships to support their Coast Guard vessels already stationed in the area.
“It’s worrisome because there are two elements to that: one is that the— before, only the China Coast Guard was moving in our area. Now, there’s the Navy, and even fishing boats are joining,” expressed Marcos.
Meanwhile, Marcos arrived in Canberra, Australia, around 7:20 PM local time or 4:11 PM Manila time.
His state visit to Australia follows the invitation of Governor-General David Hurley.
The Philippine-Australian relations have spanned over 70 years, covering a wide range of areas from defense and security to economic cooperation and people-to-people collaboration.
“I shall also highlight the huge potential in trade and investment that we should maximize in the coming years. After all, economic security is a vital component of national security,” stated Marcos.
Marcos also highlighted the success of Exercise Alon and Maritime Cooperative Activity last year under the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement in Australia, one of the two defense agreements the country has with foreign allies.
