President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. | FILE PHOTO: Official facebook page of Bongbong Marcos
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. admitted that the Philippines lives in an uneasy peace amid the South China Sea tension but maintains that “it’s peace nonetheless.”
During an interview with Bloomberg released on Wednesday, Marcos was asked if he maintained his stance that Philippine military bases will not be used for offensives against China. The President was adamant that they will not.
“We have no interest in attacking anything or anyone, not at all, that is the furthest thing on our mind. No, we would not allow that unless we are at war perhaps, but that’s why we want to keep away from that situation as much as we can,” said Marcos.
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“You could describe it as an uneasy peace but it’s peace nonetheless,” said Marcos.
When asked about the United States’ (US) support for the Philippines in the South China Sea row, Marcos said that while Washington’s support is felt, the Philippines will not act at its behest.
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The Philippines has a mutual defense treaty with the US, which Marcos insists that he will not invoke unless the country faced an existential threat.
“Then I think it’s very easy to say that that would trigger the mutual defense treaty, the agreement between the United States and the Philippines,” said Marcos.
However, Marcos said that for the sake of peace in the national interest, there is no purpose to heighten tensions by suggesting he could invoke the defense treaty.