Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr had adopted a sterner stance and asserted that the Philippines will not be “cowed into silence, submission, or subservience”.
Author
Gunjan Singh, Assistant Professor, Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, India.
Summary
In the last few months, the Philippines and the waters around it have witnessed continuous Chinese aggression. Beijing claims almost all the waters. The most recent incident occurred when Chinese naval vessels attacked a Philippines resupply mission in March. The mission was directed to provide supplies to marines who have been living on a stranded ship of World War II generation on one of the contested reefs. The dispute is around the Second Thomas Shoal which has been a hotbed of confrontation for almost one year now. The Philippines ships suffered major damage and the crew got injured too.
However, this is not the first time that Beijing has undertaken such acts. No surprise then that in a recent statement, President Ferdinand Marcos adopted a sterner stance and asserted that the Philippines will not be “cowed into silence, submission, or subservience”. Since taking office in 2022, Marcos has adopted a stronger tone towards Beijing’s actions. His predecessor Rodrigo Duterte had undertaken a more conciliatory tone towards China and was encouraging economic engagement. Chinese President Xi Jinping had recently praised Duterte and said that he had “resolutely made the strategic choice of improving relations with China, with an attitude of being responsible to the people and history”.
Published in: Deccan Herald
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