President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stood firm on Monday that the Philippines will not resort into equipping the Philippine vessels with water cannons similar to how the China Coast Guard (CCG) is doing against the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

In an ambush interview on the sidelines of the Government-Owned or -Controlled Corporations (GOCCs) Day in Pasay City, Marcos said the Philippine Navy and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) will continue to lower tensions in the WPS.

“We will not follow the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) and the Chinese vessels down that road because it is not the mission of Navy, our Coast Guard to start, or to increase tensions,” Marcos told reporters.

“Their mission is precisely the opposite, it’s to lower tensions,” he added.

Marcos made the remarks when asked if he will approve proposals to equip Philippine vessels with water cannon in response to the aggressive attacks by the CCG against the country’s vessels.

The President stood firm that the Philippines will continue defending the sovereign rights and its sovereignty in all diplomatic forms.

“No. We are, what we are doing is defending our sovereign rights and our sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea. And we have no intention of attacking anyone with water cannons or any other such offensive…I would have to call them weapon dahil nakaka-damage na,” Marcos said.

“All we do is pagka-nangyayari wina-water cannon ‘yung mga barko natin ay nagpapadala tayo ng demarche, nagpapdala tayo ng sulat sa China and the other stakeholders,” he added. A demarche is a diplomatic gesture to state a government’s position on an issue or subject.

The CCG recently used a “jet stream pressure” water cannon against the Philippine vessels on routine humanitarian mission to Bajo de Masinloc.

While Marcos emphasized that the Philippines will not use any “offensive weapon” against anyone, he said “the last thing” that the government would do “is to raise the tensions in the West Philippine Sea.” Presidential News Desk