Marcos Aims to Cool Tensions With China Over Laser Incident
- Marcos says Philippines won’t invoke Mutual Defense Treaty
- Says such a move would only provoke tensions, rather than cool
Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Photographer: Getty Images/Getty Images
This article is for subscribers only.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the country would not invoke a defense treaty with the US and was aiming “to cool the tensions down” after a Chinese ship aimed a laser light at a Philippine vessel in the South China Sea.
“I do not think that that is sufficient for it to trigger the Mutual Defense Treaty,” Marcos said on Saturday, according to his communications office. “If we activated that, what we are doing is escalating the — intensifying the tensions in the area and I think that would be counterproductive.”