JAKARTA (UPDATED)— President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday criticized the “dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels in the South China Sea,” adding that “unilateral and assertive activities that would increase tensions in the region.”

The remark, delivered before world leaders who converged in Indonesia for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit, was clearly directed at China whose coast guard launched a water cannon attack and a blockade to stop Philippine vessels from delivering supplies to its outpost in the Ayungin Shoal.

• China's laser use not armed attack but can be new escalation - expert

“We must oppose the dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels in the South China Sea,” the Philippine President said.

“We are concerned over illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and the militarization of reclaimed features in the South China Sea,” he said.

“We are concerned over consistent actions that are in violation of obligations under international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS, and under the DOC (Declaration of Code of Conduct),” he said.

Marcos Jr. urged ASEAN members and its trading partners — including China — “to exercise self-restraint and refrain from unilateral and assertive activities that would increase tensions in the region, misunderstandings, and miscalculations in the South China Sea.”

• China demands Philippines remove grounded ship from disputed waters
• Philippines denies promising China to remove ship from Ayungin

“The Philippines remains resolute towards the peaceful resolution of disputes. We continue to support freedom of navigation and overflight and the rules-based international order in the South China Sea,” he said.

“We are still committed to defending our sovereignty, our sovereign rights, and the maritime jurisdiction in accordance with UNCLOS.”

The Philippines’ goal remains the same: to craft an “effective and substantive” code of conduct in the South China Sea “that is in accordance with international law,” the Filipino leader said.

Marcos Jr. has repeatedly taken jabs at China’s aggression in the South China Sea during different meetings at the ASEAN Summit in Jakarta.

Without naming any country, Marcos Jr. earlier urged his Southeast Asian counterparts not to sacrifice regional peace and stability for the “hegemonic ambitions” of some parties.

He also repeatedly lauded the joint statement of Japan, South Korea, and the United States that decried China’s illegal and “dangerous” activities in the South China Sea.

Despite these pronouncements, Marcos Jr. told Chinese Premier Li Qiang that the Philippines is still open to cooperating with China, but also pushed for a code of conduct based on international law.

The Philippines received the support of its regional peers and other countries, with the ASEAN noting in its Chairman’s statement that “serious incidents” in the South China Sea have “increased tensions” and “eroded trust” in the region.

Indonesian President and outgoing ASEAN chairman Joko Widodo did not name particular countries but underscored the “importance of maintaining and promoting peace, security, stability, safety, and freedom of navigation in and overflight above the South China Sea.”

“We have a shared responsibility to not create new conflicts to not create new tensions, to not create new wars and at the same time, we are also responsible to ease high tensions, to soften hard conditions to create rooms for dialogue and to bridge existential differences,” Widodo said during the ASEAN-East Asia Summit, where Chinese Premier Li Qiang was present.

“This is where the international community will assess if we are leaders with the wisdom to make the world a better place for all,” he said.

“I ask the leaders of the east asia summit to make this forum a forum for us to strengthen cooperation not sharpening rivalries.”

FROM OUR ARCHIVES

Watch more News on iWantTFC