West PH Sea: Marcos unfazed by China’s demand to remove US Typhon missiles

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr | FILE PHOTO/Agence France-Presse

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. remains firm on his stance regarding the United States’ Typhon missile system, despite China’s demand for its removal, Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro said Thursday.

On Wednesday, Chinese state media urged the Philippine government to remove the US Typhon missile system from the South China Sea.

The report claimed that the Philippines had “repeatedly gone back on its word and acted in bad faith,” as quoted People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Communist Party.

READ: West PH Sea: US slams China’s ‘dangerous’ maneuvers in Scarborough Shoal

Speaking at Thursday’s Palace briefing, Castro said, “We will repeat the latest pronouncement of the president; the president has not changed his pronouncement—he has demands—if China wants to make a demand, we have a counter demand; our stance is still the same; the president ‘s stance is still the same.”

Castro was referring to Marcos’ “deal” with China that the Philippines will “return” the Typhon missile launchers to the United States if China stops its claim on the West Philippine Sea and its harassment of Filipino vessels.

READ: Marcos to China: Stop aggressive acts, I’ll return US missile system

“Let’s make a deal with China—stop claiming our territory, stop harassing our fishermen and let them have a living, stop ramming our boats, stop water-cannoning our people, stop firing lasers at us, and stop your aggressive and coercive behavior, and I’ll return the Typhon missiles,” Marcos said in a media interview last January.