MANILA (UPDATE)— The Philippines does not have any territorial dispute with China, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. said on Saturday, noting that it was important for the country to maintain its partnership with other countries to build peace in the region.

Speaking before the Asia Society in New York, Marcos said economic strides and other developments would be rendered useless if there's conflict in the Asia Pacific.

"I think it is no surprise that ... Some of these conflicts with the People's Republic of China and the position that the Philippines takes is that we have no territorial conflict with China. What we have are (sic) China claiming territory that belongs to the Philippines," Marcos said during his one-on-one with former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

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"This is the position we take with our American partners. We have promoted that position and we made it very clear to our friends in Beijing that this is the way we feel about it."

"On our part, we will continue to work with China and other claimant states with the end in view of resolving the issues involving the West Philippine Sea through diplomacy and the dialogue," he added during his opening speech for the event.

Video from RTVM

Admitting that the Philippines would not be able to match the military capability of China, Marcos said this is where its alliances would come to play — such as with the US and Australia — where the government could rely on in terms of "strength."

But the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), he said, must "play a stronger role" when conflict arises and "in trying to again keep the peace and slowly and continue to engage with China."

"Once that engagement stops, then there is no progress. Things could easily deteriorate and that is not what we want to happen," said Marcos.

"As I've always said, the fundamental principle that guides our foreign policy is peace. We talk about the economy, we say that we are in crisis, there's many things to do... we are very optimistic about the future but all of these things will be for naught if there is conflict in the region."

CHINA, TAIWAN STRAIT

Marcos likewise called for the peaceful resolution of the tensions in the Taiwan Strait, which he described as "concerning."

"We urge all parties involved to practice maximum restraint, dialogue, and diplomacy must prevail," he said.

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"We understand that this instability in the Asia-Pacific region are also linked to the situation in the Korean peninsula and we are ready to play a constructive role in advancing a peaceful and denuclearized Korean peninsula through confidence-building measures amongst the various stakeholders," he added.

Tensions in the Taiwan Strait soared to their highest level in years in August after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei.

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Taiwan lives under constant threat of an invasion by China, which claims the democracy as part of its territory to be seized one day — by force if necessary.

Marcos' predecessor, former President Rodrigo Duterte, moved closer to China during his administration but faced pushback from the Philippine public and concern in the military wary of Beijing's territorial ambitions in the South China Sea, within which is the smaller West Philippine Sea.

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Trillions of dollars in trade pass through the strategic sea and it is thought to contain rich petroleum deposits, making it a frequent source of regional friction.

China has ignored a 2016 ruling by the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration that its historical claim to the area is without basis. It has reinforced its stance by building artificial islands over some contested reefs and installing weapons on them.

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As of June, the Philippine foreign ministry said it already filed more than 300 diplomatic protests over Chinese actions in the disputed waters over the past six years.

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— with a report from Agence France-Presse