The Philippines will never be part of the escalation of tensions in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), President Marcos declared yesterday as he rejected the deployment of Navy warships despite China's persistent aggression within Philippine waters. "We are not at war. We don't need Navy warships," he said. "Again, it will be provocative and will be seen as an escalation. We don't do that," "The Philippines does not escalate tensions. Quite the opposite, the Philippines always tries to bring down the level of tension," Marcos said. "All we are doing is resupplying our fishermen, protecting our territorial rights."

Flores, H. (2024, December 11). Marcos rules out warship deployment to WPS. The Philippine Star, p. 2.