MANILA - Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on May 6 the country would not use water cannon or any offensive weapons in the South China Sea, and the last thing it wanted was to raise tensions in the strategic waterway.

“We will not follow the Chinese coast guard and Chinese vessels down that road,” Mr Marcos told reporters, adding that the mission of the Philippine navy and coast guard was to lower tensions, and there were no plans to install water cannon on vessels.

China’s embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Philippines and China have had several confrontations at disputed atolls in the South China Sea, most notably at the Second Thomas Shoal.

Last week, Manila protested against Beijing’s use of water cannon against Philippine vessels at a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, describing it as harassment and “dangerous manoeuvres”, after a rise in tensions in recent months.

The Philippines has said such moves were aimed at disrupting supply missions to Philippine soldiers stationed in a naval ship there, which Manila deliberately grounded in 1999 to bolster its maritime claims.

“If the Philippines truly wants to de-escalate the situation in the South China Sea, it should immediately stop sending ships... and stop sending supplies to illegally grounded ships,” a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said at a regular press briefing on May 6.

China claims sovereignty over much of the South China Sea, a conduit for more than US$3 trillion (S$4 trillion) of annual ship-borne commerce, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.

An international tribunal in 2016 said China’s expansive claim had no legal basis, a decision Beijing has rejected. REUTERS