Calling the tensions in the South China Sea “the most complex geopolitical situation in the world,” President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called on the Armed Forces of the Philippines to “guard carefully” the country’s territory, amid the unabated Chinese incursions into the West Philippine Sea, the area within the country’s exclusive economic zone. Meanwhile, former Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said the President was “taking proper steps in defending the rights of the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea.”

Corrales, N. (2023, February 28). Del Rosario: Marcos ‘taking proper steps in defending’ West PH Sea. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A3.