MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ruled out deploying warships to the South China Sea Tuesday, December 10, breaking from tough talk by officials after Chinese military vessels harassed Philippine Coast Guard ships for the first time in the disputed waters.

Marcos said the Philippines "will never be part of an escalation" in the West Philippine Sea — the part of the South China Sea that is within the Philippines' 200 nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.

"We are not at war, we don't need navy warships. All we are doing is resupplying our fishermen, protecting our territorial rights," Marcos said in a chance interview with reporters.

This is the first time the president has directly addressed the December 4 incident where two People's Liberation Army Navy vessels blocked and shadowed the PCG's flagship vessel at Scarborough Shoal (Bajo de Masinloc). 

The deployment of the Chinese warships to tail PCG vessel BRP Teresa Magbanua had alarmed Philippine officials, who noted that its "dangerous maneuvers" were previously limited to China's coast guard and maritime militia.  

On the day of the incident, Jonathan Malaya, spokesperson of the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea, said in a televised interview that the Philippines now "reserves the right" to send its Navy ships in response to China's army vessels. While he tagged the incident as a "steep escalation on the part of China, Malaya said the Philippines does not want to escalate tensions. 

PCG spokesperson Jay Tarriela also said over the weekend that reciprocating China's use of warships could be a "policy option" but said the decision was up to the president.

On Tuesday, Marcos stressed the Philippines' long-standing position as the non-escalatory party in the South China Sea dispute. Sending Navy vessels will be "provocative and will be seen as an escalation," Marcos said.

"The Philippines does not escalate tensions. Quite the opposite, the Philippines always tried to bring down the level of tension," he added. 

Besides the "dangerous maneuvers" of Chinese warships, the PCG on December 4 also condemned China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels' use of water cannons against fisheries vessels that were deployed to support Filipino fishermen in Scarborough Shoal. In response, the CCG said it was conducting "control measures in accordance with laws and regulations."

PLA Navy vessels are military warships under China's armed forces, tasked with defense and combat operations, while CCG vessels are maritime law enforcement ships primarily equipped for patrol. 

Beijing had seized control of Scarborough Shoal in 2012 after a weeks-long tense standoff with Filipino troops.

Since then, Chinese vessels have routinely restricted Filipino fishermen's access to the shoal. There are also reports of Chinese fishermen using cyanide to keep Filipinos from fishing in the area.

RELATED: Explainer: What is the risk of conflict at the disputed Scarborough Shoal?

Beijing has continued to press its claims to almost the entire South China Sea despite an international tribunal ruling in 2016 that nullified its claim of historic rights over the waters.lakers88

Related Stories PCG reports latest water cannon attack by Chinese vessels near Scarborough Shoal

• #039
• We
• not
• lakers88
• are