Marcos Says Philippines Won’t Resort to Force Amid China Sea Row

Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the nation would not resort to force or intimidation but “stands firm” amid clashes near islands in the South China Sea that are at the center of a territorial dispute with China.

“We are not in the business to instigate wars,” Marcos on Sunday told soldiers at the Western Command in Palawan province, the closest Philippine landmass to the contested Spratly Islands. “In defending the nation, we stay true to our Filipino nature that we would like to settle all these issues peacefully.”