Marcos downplays Harris Palawan trip

PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Saturday allayed fears that the upcoming trip of US Vice President Kamala Harris to Palawan will trigger tension between the Philippines and China since she will be visiting an area that is within Philippine territory.

Harris is expected to arrive in Palawan on November 21 to receive a briefing about the current situation in the West Philippine Sea, a part of the strategic waterway that China has been claiming.

“No. I don’t see why they should. She is in the Philippines, and she is visiting another part of the Philippines,” Marcos told reporters during an interview in Bangkok, Thailand when asked if Harris’ visit near the disputed waters would fuel tensions between the Philippines and China.

“And of course, it is the closest area to the South China Sea, but it’s very clearly on Philippine territory. So, I don’t think there should be — I don’t think it will cause problems,” he added.

Harris is set to meet with Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday, and visit Palawan — one of the Philippines’ closest territories to the disputed South China Sea — on Tuesday.

When asked what issues would be discussed during the meeting, Marcos said that relations between the Philippines and the US “must continue to evolve, and that will be the case.”

He also said that maintaining the AsiaPacific region’s security and defense is not a job that can be done by a single country but a “joint response” from countries.

“Well, things have changed. What will

the United States do in response, and what do they expect from their partners in the region?” the President said.

“I think when it comes to security and defense in the Asia-Pacific, it really has to be a joint response. I don’t think any single country should go [at] it alone. I think we will do much better if we respond as a group, and I think other countries agree,” he added.

The Philippines and China have been in a long-standing maritime dispute as Beijing claims nearly the entire South China Sea, a portion of which the Philippines has been claiming and which it had renamed the West Philippine Sea.

The Philippines scored a victory against China in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands in 2016. The arbitration court declared Beijing’s claim over nearly the entire South China Sea as illegal.

China has refused to acknowledge the ruling and continues to hang on to its claim.

Earlier this week, Marcos met Chinese President Xi Jinping for the first time on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings in Thailand.

During their bilateral meeting, Xi told Marcos that the Philippines and China should stick to “friendly consultations” when dealing with issues on the South China Sea.

Xi also said that Manila and Beijing should work together “to reject unilateralism and acts of bullying, defend fairness and justice, and safeguard peace and stability in the region.”

When asked about that statement, Marcos said, “I suppose the term ‘bullying’ is not exactly accurate. I would characterize it as something different.”

“I would say that as part of our foreign policy, and this is something again that I spoke to our other partners with, what we really should pursue is that we should make sure that we in the region are the ones who will decide the future of the region. Huwag nating pabayaan na dinidiktahan tayo ng kahit sino (Let us not allow anyone to dictate on us),” Marcos said.

“It is us in Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), us in Asia who should decide… Dapat ang mga tiga-doon ang magkukumpas kung saan ang takbo ng region na ‘yan (Those in the region should decide on how it should be run),” he said. “When it comes to security and defense in the Asia-Pacific, it has to be a joint response. We would do much better if we respond as a group.”

The Asean has been pushing for a legally binding code for decades to reduce the risk of conflict in the South

China Sea. But critics have noted the slow progress in the talks due to resistance from China.

Last week, the President pushed for the finalization of a Code of Conduct on the South China Sea during the Asean Summit in Cambodia.

The code seeks to direct the behavior of claimant countries in the South China Sea to avoid confrontations in the strategic waterway where 60 percent of seaborne goods pass by annually.

Since assuming the presidency, Marcos has repeatedly said that he would uphold the arbitral tribunal ruling as he made his stand firm — the Philippines would not lose even an inch of its territory under his watch.

In February this year, Marcos said he would seek the help of the Asean and the United Nations to resolve territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

Marcos will visit China for the first time as Philippine leader in January 2023.