President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stressed the government remains committed to maintaining the peace and would not allow any country to use the Philippines as a platform for military operations.
Marcos’ statement came as the Philippines is strengthening its partnership with the United States, both politically and militarily, in response to escalating tensions in the West Philippine Sea and over Taiwan.
On the flight to the United States Sunday, reporters asked Marcos his perception of the Philippines’ position in the Indo-Pacific region.
The President emphasized that the Philippines would not be used as a “staging post” for military operations.
“Simple lang ang role natin sa Pilipinas (Our role in the Philippines is simple), we work for peace. We’ll not encourage any provocative action by any other country that will involve the Philippines. We will not allow that to happen, we will not allow the Philippines to be used as a staging post by any country for any kind of military action,” Marcos said.
I think the best move for us is to stay within ASEAN, keep ASEAN solid, strong and united.
“All we are worried about is the peace and the safety of our people both here and abroad. That’s the main consideration,” he added.
The President said the Philippines has no plans of expanding its territory.
He emphasized the importance of a unified ASEAN in maintaining the peace and in reducing tensions in the South China Sea.
The President said the Philippines has no plans of expanding its territory.
“I think the best move for us is to stay within ASEAN, keep ASEAN solid, strong and united, so that if that’s the case, if we have, at least we have a consensus and areas of agreement, then it will remain strong, and that Asean will still be the one to conduct and to lead the political fortunes of all the other countries around Asia,” Marcos said.
He made these remarks following the conclusion of the 2023 Balikatan Exercise, which sought to enhance the interoperability of the military defenses of the Filipino and American militaries.