JAKARTA - Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Monday his country would not use any water cannon or offensive weapons in the South China Sea.
President Marcos Jr. said increasing tensions in the strategic waters were the last thing the Philippines would do.
"We will not follow the coast guard and Chinese ships to do this," President Marcos Jr. said, adding the Philippine naval and coast guard mission was to lower tensions, and there were no plans to install water cannons on board.
Last week, Manila protested Beijing's use of water cannons against Philippine ships in disputed shallow waters in the South China Sea, describing them as harassment and "dangerous maneuver", after rising tensions in recent months.
As part of the protests, the Philippines summoned the deputy head of the Bamboo Curtain country diplomatic mission in Manila last Thursday to hear the Philippines' 20th protest against Beijing this year, one of 153 protests under the current government over the behavior of coast guards and fishing vessels that Manila says are militias.
"The Philippines protested harassment, bullying, beatings, beatings and blocking, dangerous maneuvers, the use of water cannons, and other aggressive actions taken by the Chinese Coast Guard and Chinese maritime militias," the Philippines said in a statement.
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China is known to claim sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, which is the world's main trade route with zeros per year reaching more than $3 trillion, including areas claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam.
An international court in 2016 said China's expansionary claim had no legal basis, a decision Beijing rejected.
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