The Philippines will continue to do what it can to defend its maritime territory amid the Chinese incursions in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said on Wednesday.

President Marcos made the statement during a media interview following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s statements urging its armed forces to coordinate for possible conflicts erupting at sea.

Marcos said there is nothing new to Xi’s statements, saying it has been China’s consistent policy for the last two or three years.

“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,” Marcos said, adding although Xi did not state that outright until now, it has been the policy for some time.

“So, I’m not surprised, but 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,” he said.

The chief executive made the remarks after Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo confirmed that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will be meeting the President on March 19 to discuss cooperation and security matters.

The Philippines has been intensifying its security cooperation with the United States, Japan amid the current tension in the South China Sea, with the Philippine Coast Guard personnel and fishermen facing constant harassments from Chinese maritime forces. PND