Marcos: PH won’t be used as ‘staging post’ for any military act

WASHINGTON - The Philippines will never be used as a staging post for any kind of military action, according to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

In an interview with reporters while en route to the United States on Sunday, Marcos was asked how does he view the Philippines’ role in the Indo-Pacific region.

He underscored that the Philippines would not be utilized as a “staging post” for any kind of military action.

“There is — simple lang ang goal natin sa Pilipinas (our goal for the Philippines is simple), we work for peace. We work for peace. We’ll not encourage any provocative action by any country that involves, that will involve the — provocative action that will involve the Philippines by any other country,” Marcos said.

“We will not allow that to happen. We will not use — we will not allow the Philippines to be used as a staging post for any kind of military action,” he added.

Marcos’ remarks came after the recent conclusion of the 2023 Balikatan Exercise which aimed to strengthen defense interoperability between Filipino and American soldiers.

Earlier, Marcos also allayed concerns regarding the four additional sites under the country's Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement with the US, noting that these will not be used for offensive actions.

Stay with ASEAN

Meanwhile, according to Marcos, the ASEAN has a significant role in maintaining peace in the region, noting that the Philippines should stay with the body.

“I think the best move for us is to stay within ASEAN, keep ASEAN solid, strong, and united,” Marcos said.

“So that, if that’s the case, if we are — at least, we have a consensus and areas of agreement then it will remain strong and that will be — that ASEAN will still be the one to conduct and to lead the political fortunes of all the other countries around Asia,” he added.

Marcos said the Philippine government only wants peace in the region, adding that it does not intend to add more territories.

“Kami wala kaming interes kung hindi maging peaceful lang ang region namin. Talagang hindi magka-problema ang mga Pilipino, ‘yun lang naman ang habol natin. Wala naman tayong interes na pumunta — magpalawak ng territory. So wala sa position ng Pilipino ‘yung tungkol diyan,” he said.

(We don't have any other interest than to have our region be peaceful. Filipinos won't have a problem because that's the only thing we're after. We have no intention to increase our territory. So [adding more territories] is not the position of the Philippines.) —KG, GMA Integrated News