31-5-2024 (SINGAPORE) In a strongly worded statement, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has warned that any “wilful act” resulting in the death of a Filipino serviceman or citizen in the South China Sea maritime dispute would be considered “almost certainly” a red line, amounting to an “act of war” that his country will “respond accordingly” to.
The stern remarks were made on May 31 during the 21st Shangri-La Dialogue, a prominent regional security forum held in Singapore. Marcos, delivering the keynote speech, addressed the escalating tensions between the Philippines and China over their longstanding competing claims in the South China Sea.
Responding to a question from the audience about whether the use of water cannons by Chinese coast guards, potentially resulting in the death of a Filipino sailor, would cross a red line, Marcos stated, “Once we get to that point, certainly we would have crossed the Rubicon. Is that a red line? Almost certainly it’s going to be a red line.”
He further emphasized, “We had already suffered injury but thank God, we have not yet gotten to the point where any of our participants, civilian or otherwise, have been killed. But once we get to that point, certainly we would have crossed the Rubicon.”
In recent months, the Philippines and China have been embroiled in heated confrontations over their overlapping claims in the strategic South China Sea. In March, China’s coast guard fired a water cannon on a Philippine vessel, resulting in injuries and property damage, according to Manila.
More recently, the Philippines accused China of building “an artificial island” in a disputed area and deployed naval vessels to monitor the “illegal activities.”
Beijing claims jurisdiction over most of the South China Sea, a crucial global trade route through which over $3 trillion in annual trade passes. However, its claims overlap with those of the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam, fueling tensions in the region.
Marcos tells Chinese general: South China Sea peace a ‘world issue’
WATCH: Chinese Major General Xu Hui is the first to ask a question after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s keynote address at the Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore. Xu asks if the Philippines is ‘risking’ regional… pic.twitter.com/tDkEkYwd28
— Rappler (@rapplerdotcom) May 31, 2024
Since assuming office in 2022, Marcos has adopted a firmer stance towards China’s actions in the disputed waters, backed by defense allies such as the United States, Japan, and Australia.
The Shangri-La Dialogue, hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, serves as a platform for regional security discussions, with defense ministers from around the world in attendance, including the US and China.
Earlier on May 31, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and his newly appointed Chinese counterpart, Li Shangfu, met on the sidelines of the summit, underscoring the importance of military-to-military communication, which had been suspended following the visit of former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan in August 2022.
The meeting follows an agreement between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping to resume military-to-military talks, reached during their meeting in San Francisco in November 2023.
