Marcos vows PH will never back out after latest WPS water cannon incident

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. on Monday said Philippine assets would never back out, after a Chinese vessel fired a water cannon at a Philippine vessel in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

Marcos was referring to the Philippine Coast Guard's (PCG) vessel BRP Suluan which was on a mission to aid Filipino fishermen in Bajo de Masinloc when the incident occurred on Monday morning.

''We have never instructed any of our vessels to back out,'' Marcos said at a press briefing.

''Never, never. But we have to always – we do not back out because natakot tayo, umatras tayo. Alam mo, I don't know about other places, pero dito sa – dito sa gobyernong ito, hindi tayo umaatras sa laban (We do not back out just because we are scared. In this government, we will not back out.),'' he added. 

''We don't – we don't… We are brave. Filipinos are brave,'' the President said. 

Marcos said the country's uniformed personnel have been doing their duty and mission of defending the Philippines, noting that ''we will not stop doing it.''

Earlier, Philippine vessels and fishermen encountered hazardous maneuvers and blocking actions from other vessels in the vicinity, according to PCG spokesperson for WPS Commodore Jay Tarriela.

“In particular, the MRRV 4406 (BRP Suluan) was targeted with a water cannon, but the seamanship skills by PCG crew members allowed the vessel to successfully evade from getting hit,” Tarriela said.

He said the PCG has deployed the BRP Teresa Magbanua and BRP Suluan, along with MV Pamamalakaya, to carry out the “Kadiwa Para sa Bagong Bayaning Mangingisda (KBBM)” initiative.

Asked if he has special instructions, Marcos said, ''We don't have any special instructions. Sanay na tayo rito eh (We are used to this.).''

''You know, it is not – it is not a one thing na – there's no silver bullet na ‘pag pinaputok mo, solve lahat ng problema mo (there's no silver bullet that if you fired it, your problems will be solved.),'' he said.

According to Marcos, there is an increased tension in the region due to his remarks last week, wherein he was accused by China of playing with fire.

To recall, China lodged "serious protests" against the Philippines after Marcos stated the country may be drawn into a conflict between the United States and China over Taiwan.

In defense, Marcos said he was perplexed with China's accusation, adding that he was only stating facts.

'Playing with fire? I was just stating facts," he said.

Marcos vowed that his administration would continue to exercise the country's sovereignty in the region. 

''We will continue to be present. We will continue to defend our territory. We will continue to exercise our sovereign rights. And despite any opposition from anyone, we will continue to do that as we have done in the past three years,'' Marcos said. 

He said the Philippines does not want any kind of confrontation with any nation. 

''We want to build a better, stronger, freer, safer Philippines. That's what we are working for. This does not build – this kind of confrontation does not build a stronger, better Philippines. All it does is continue to defend our country,'' Marcos said. 

GMA News Online asked the Chinese Embassy for comment but it has yet to issue a statement as of posting time. —KG/RSJ, GMA Integrated News