‘PH to do all to defend its territory’

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PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. on Wednesday said the Philippines will continue to protect its territory following an order of Chinese President Xi Jinping for his armed forces to prepare more coordinated actions for possible sea conflicts

“We will have to continue to do what we can to defend our maritime territory in the face of, perhaps, a more active attempt by the Chinese to annex some of our territory,” the
President said in a media interview before Germany for the Czech Republic.

Marcos, however, also said there was really nothing new with Xi’s statements, as it has already been China’s consistent policy for the last two or three years.

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“That’s what they’ve been doing already. They have defined the 10-dash line… and for our part, continue to defend what we (have) … and the international community has recognized as our maritime territory,” he said.

China has been harassing Philippine vessels in the West Philippine Sea in the South China Sea, particularly resupply missions for troops stationed at the grounded Navy ship BRP Sierra Madre at the Ayungin Shoal which is well within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea based on its 10-dash line territorial claim.

The Philippines is claiming parts of the sea, like Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam.

Marcos on Tuesday said no country or international body recognizes the 10-dash claim.

On Wednesday, he said like-minded countries like the Philippines and Germany continue to “present a united front against any unilateral attempts to take territory from any other country.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, during a meeting with Marcos, reiterated the need to adhere to international law particularly the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea and ensuring freedom of navigation.

The President, meanwhile, confirmed his upcoming meeting with United States Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on March 19, which Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo would focus on cooperation between the two countries and security matters.

The President kicked off his March 13 to 15 state visit to the Czech Republic with a series of meetings with the top constitutional heads of the European country — President Petr Pavel, Prime Minister Petr Fiala, Czech Parliament Senate President MiloÅ¡ Vystrčil and the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Markéta Pekarová Adamová.

The President arrived in Prague at 5:43 p.m. on Wednesday, (12:43 a.m. Thursday in Manila). He and the Philippine delegation came from Berlin Germany where he had a working visit from March 11 to 13.

The Philippines is expected to sign with the Czech Republic a joint communiqué on the establishment of labor consultation mechanisms, which aims to elevate cooperation between the Manila and Prague for the safe and orderly migration of Filipino workers and provide a higher level of protection of their rights and welfare.

Philippine Ambassador Eduardo Meñez, in an interview in Prague by the Radio Television Malacañang, said the President’s visit is significant as it comes at the heels of the two countries’ celebration of their 50th anniversary of bilateral relations, making it an “opportune time, pointing towards a higher level of political, economic and people-to-people engagement between the Philippines and the Central European nation.”

“But this year, and this is another significant development, the Czech government and the employers in the Czech Republic have seen how well the Filipino workers have adapted and how hard they work, and the productivity of the companies that have hired them have also gone up. So now, this year, by May, the quota for Filipino workers will increase to 10,300,” he also said.

The President, before returning to Manila, will meet with the Filipino community in the Czech Republic which hosts about 7,300 Filipinos.

The Philippines aims to harness the Czech Republic’s expertise on agriculture, manufacturing, especially in the automotive industry, transportation, renewable energy, space, and scientific instruments that they have been leading the world in, in terms of technology.

Marcos is expected to arrive in Manila late Saturday.

‘WE DON’ MAKE PASYAL’

The President, in the media interview in Germany, said his hectic schedule during foreign travels leave him no time for sight-seeing

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He was reacting to the insinuation of his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, that he been going on foreign trips for leisure.

“Ito ‘yung schedule ko. San ‘yung pasyal? This is my schedule for today (This is my schedule. Where is the sight-seeing)?” Marcos said as he showed members of the media a page of his schedule in Germany.

“Where’s the pasyal? Wala, you know, kasama kayo diyan, kasama niyo kami. We don’t make pasyal. Even in the places that I know where I have spent a lot of time with, hindi ko na napupuntahan ‘yung mga dati kong pinupuntahan because we’re here to do this (Where’s the sight-seeing? None, you know, you are part of it, you were with us. We don’t do sight-seeing. Even in the places that I have spent a lot of time with, I was not able to go to the old places we visit because we’re here to do this),” he added, referring to his various meetings.

Malacañang said the President’s trip to Germany yielded $4 billion worth of investments.

Marcos said he had “fruitful” meetings with German corporations.

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