Photo credit: PCO

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. reaffirmed the Philippines' commitment to defending its sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) in the face of escalating electronic communication jamming activities by Chinese forces. The President expressed his concerns during an interview before departing for Australia on Wednesday.

President Marcos voiced apprehension over the aggressive maneuvers of Chinese nautical assets in the WPS, revealing that China has deployed Navy ships to support the Chinese Coast Guard vessels already present in the area.

"Nagbabago ang sitwasyon, but – well, maliwanag naman para sa atin, we don’t really— we just watch, of course, what everybody is doing, but really for us, patuloy pa rin natin, we just defend our maritime territory," President Marcos stated when asked about China's alleged electronic jamming activities against Filipino vessels.

He emphasized the continued support for Filipino fishermen making their living in the fishing grounds, despite the reported increase in cyber interference. President Marcos stated, "At despite whatever else happens, bina-block tayo, kung ano, may shadow, eh patuloy pa rin ang ating gagawin dahil ‘yan naman ang trabaho natin, trabaho natin tulungan natin ‘yung mga fishers na matagal na, ilang henerasyon na doon nangingisda."

The President's remarks followed the disclosure by Philippine Navy spokesperson for WPS, Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad, regarding the surge in cyber interference, electronic interference, and signal jamming, affecting both naval and land-based communication equipment of the Philippine Navy.

President Marcos emphasized that the Philippine government will stand firm on the WPS issue, asserting, "So, that’s essentially the issue there. So, that’s the basic principle there, is that the fishers must be allowed to fish in their traditional fishing grounds, which belong in the maritime territory of the Philippines."