President-elect Bongbong Marcos underscored Thursday, May 26 that his administration won’t give up any part of the Philippines’ coastal territory to foreigners, but at the same time noted that it he wants to avoid a war. In his strongest comments yet on the longstanding source of tensions between the two nations, Marcos said he would not "allow a single millimeter of our maritime coastal rights to be trampled upon." “I have already said this before, considering in the WPS (West Philippine Sea) that there have been these conflicts, we will not allow a single square, and maybe make it even more smaller, [a] single square millimeter of our maritime coastal and up to 200-kilometer rights to be trampled upon,” he said, apparently referring to the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Quismorio, E. A. (2022, May 27). Marcos: PH won't give up West Philippine Sea. Manila Bulletin, pp. 1, 10.