President Marcos rejected attempts to portray the South China Sea territorial dispute as a contest between two superpowers, saying these undermined the sovereignty of other countries involved in the conflict. “The Philippines firmly rejects misleading narratives that frame the disputes in the South China Sea solely to the lens of strategic competition between two powerful countries. This not only denies us our independence, our agency, but it also disregards our own legitimate interests,” he told regional leaders at the 43rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit on Tuesday evening.

Mangaluz, J. (2023, September 7). Marcos: Maritime dispute not just about hegemony. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A4.