Marcos: Resupply pact with China aims to avert miscalculation at sea
President Marcos says resupply arrangements for troops on a disputed South China Sea shoal are meant to prevent miscalculation and conflict, without ceding sovereign rights.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has said that arrangements governing resupply missions to troops stationed on a disputed shoal in the South China Sea are designed to prevent miscalculation and avoid conflict.
Speaking at a forum with foreign correspondents in Manila, Marcos explained that the procedures are meant to ensure clarity in a tense maritime environment. "These arrangements that we make are to prevent any kind of miscalculation, mistake that might lead to even greater attention and hopefully not conflict," he said.
Marcos detailed the operational aspect of the agreement, noting that the Philippines issues a Notice to Mariners (NOTAM) before conducting a resupply run. This notice, he said, simply informs all parties of the ship's intended route and duration of stay, nothing more.
The president was addressing the situation at Second Thomas Shoal, where Philippine personnel are stationed. The shoal is also claimed by China, and recent clashes in the area have raised concerns about a broader confrontation.
Marcos stressed that the arrangement does not compromise the country's position. "That does not somehow make more vulnerable or give up any of our sovereign rights," he asserted, adding that the Philippines' claims remain firmly grounded in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the arbitral ruling.
He clarified that the NOTAM is not directed at any specific country or vessel, but is a general notice to all those operating in the region, which the Philippines refers to as the West Philippine Sea.