President Marcos Says Philippines 'Will Not Lose An Inch' Of Territory

MANILA, Feb 18 - Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Saturday that the country "Will not lose an inch" of territory, his remarks coming on the heels of continuing maritime tensions with Beijing in the South China Sea. "The country has seen heightened geopolitical tensions that do not conform to our ideals of peace and threaten the security and stability of the country, of the region and of the world," Marcos said in a speech at a military alumni homecoming event. On Tuesday, Marcos summoned China's envoy to express his "Serious concern" over Beijing's "Increasing frequency and intensity of actions" against the Philippine Coast Guard and Filipino fishermen in the South China Sea. Marcos sees the laser pointing incident as insufficient to invoke a mutual defence treaty with United States, a longstanding ally. "If we activated that, what we are doing is escalating, intensifying the tensions in the area and I think that would be counterproductive," Marcos told reporters. Marcos said he discussed with China's ambassador to Manila what he saw was intensifying actions of Chinese marine militia, coast guard and navy, including the laser pointing incident. China's recent actions came just a month after Marcos' state visit to Beijing, where the two countries pledged to handle disputes peacefully and boost cooperation.