Palace: PH not waging war against anyone, but won’t back down from fight

Presidential Press Officer Claire Castro. File photo from RTVM/Facebook

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Thursday insisted that the Philippines is not waging war against any country, following China’s recent remarks on the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal incident early this week.

At a briefing on Thursday, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro reacted to a Chinese state media article alleging that the Marcos administration attempts to divert domestic tension and pursue political self-interest through supply missions.

READ: Marcos: PH ships to stay in West PH Sea despite China’s provocations

The article also claimed that the Philippines conducted “dangerous maneuvers” in the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal on Monday, when two Chinese ships got engaged in a collision.

Citing an interview with an official from the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, it threatened that if the Philippines persists in provocations, it will “inevitably face more targeted countermeasures from China.”

But Castro dismissed these statements, saying in Filipino: “That is their narrative, but I will repeat what the president said: we will not back down from the fight, but we are not provoking anyone. We are not waging war against any country—we are merely defending our rights.”

“So once again, the president and the administration will not back down from the fight because the president believes that every Filipino is brave,” she also said.

CCG ship 3104 collided with People’s Liberation Army Navy warship 164 off Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal while chasing a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ship.

BRP Suluan, the PCG ship, was escorting other vessels on a mission to assist Filipino fisherfolk near Panatag Shoal when the collision occurred. /mr