Marcos: Philippines firm on sovereignty, seeks peaceful talks with ChinaMANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stressed Tuesday the Philippines’ resolute stance in defending its sovereignty against Chinese provocations, while emphasizing the country’s commitment to resolving issues through peaceful dialogues. Marcos acknowledged that the South China Sea “remains to be a point of contention” during his meeting with Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong in Hanoi. Marcos’ state visit also witnessed the signing of memoranda of understanding on “incident prevention and management in the South China Sea” and on cooperation between the coast guards of the Philippines and Vietnam. “We are firm in defending our sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction against these Chinese provocations,” Marcos said. The Philippines and China earlier agreed to improve communication and “calmly deal” with incidents in the strategically and economically important waterway.
