Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stated that China continues to exhibit aggressive behavior in the West Philippine Sea, should it wish for the Philippines to withdraw the deployed military assets on the Luzon-based Typhoon missiles of the U.S. The president remarked during a meeting with journalists in Cebu that he does not wish to comment on the missile system due to the involvement of larger and more powerful partners of China.
"Let’s conclude a deal with China - cease all interference with our territory, stop intimidating our fishermen and let them live, cease ramming our boats, cease assaulting our people with water cannons, cease directing lasers at us, cease your aggressive and provocative behavior, and I will return the Typhoon missiles," he said. "Tigil nila yung ginagaw nila, ibabalik ko lahat 'yan," Marcos said.
Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez stated in an interview with NewsWatch Plus that no other country can dictate what the Philippines can or cannot do when it comes to improving its military capabilities.