Marcos: EDCA sites won’t raise tensions

by BERNADETTE E. TAMAYO ManilaTimes.net

PRESIDENT Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said the Philippines will see to it that giving the United States military access to four new bases under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) will not be seen as a "provocation" that could further heighten tension in the South China Sea.

The President was reacting to growing concerns that allowing the expansion of US military presence in the country will not sit well with other countries, particularly China, which have staked claims in the disputed waterway.

"It's a valid concern. And it's something that we have to pay attention to, that we do not be seen as... anything that we do will not be seen as provocative to anyone," the President said in a chance interview Sunday, February 12. Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines are claiming parts of the South China Sea, believed to be rich in gas and mineral resources.

China, however, insists that practically all of the South China Sea is part of its territory. Marcos said he has always been for maintaining peace in the region, and will avoid moves that will disrupt that peace. He said the additional EDCA sites "will not have the opposite effect from what we want, which is to make the tensions [in the South China Sea] even higher." He refused to identify the new sites, saying they are still under study.

"I think when I get back I will have a command  PAGE 2

by DANIZA FERNANDEZ Inquirer.net

MANILA — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian met to strategize on Tuesday on how best to settle the maritime disputes between the two nations.

The high-level meeting between the two officials was held as a response to an incident in which a China Coast Guard ship fired a laser beam at a Philippine Coast Guard vessel near the Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea, causing temporary vision impairment to some of the PCG crew.

The Chinese Embassy in Manila issued a statement saying, “Both parties discussed how to actualize the consensus formed by the two heads of state, increase dialogue and communication, and thoughtfully manage maritime differences between China and the Philippines.”

Marcos summoned Huang to air his “serious concern” over the actions of China against the PCG and Filipino fishermen in the West Philippine Sea.

CHINA’S harassment of a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessel using a “military-grade” laser is “provocative and unsafe,” the United States (US) said on Tuesday, February 14.

The PCG reported that a Chinese Coast Guard ship directed a “military-grade” laser at one of its vessels as it was supporting a Philippine Navy rotation and resupply mission in Ayungin Shoal, also called Second Thomas Shoal, in the West Philippine Sea on February 6.

The laser caused temporary blindness to the PCG crew members.

“The PRC’s (People’s Republic of China) conduct was provocative and unsafe, resulting in the temporary blindness of the crewmembers of the BRP Malapascua and interfering with the Philippines’ lawful operations in and around Second Thomas Shoal,” US Department of State spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.