Vancouver, Canada – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he is concerned a future administration could change the Philippines’ policy in the West Philippine Sea, calling the issue one of the country’s most important national interests.
In an interview with reporters in Canada on Saturday, July 4, Marcos admits that he was worried the gains his administration has made in advancing the 2016 arbitral award could be weakened after he leaves office, Marcos answered, “Of course I am.”
“It’s almost, not quite, but it’s almost an existential issue for us,” he told reporters.
He said the issue goes beyond the interests of any single administration.
“Maybe not existential for ordinary Filipinos, but for the Philippine state, the Philippine Republic,” he said.
“So we really have to be consistent,” the president added.
Marcos argued that the Philippines’ position has gained broader international support.
He pointed to countries such as Canada, which backs the 2016 arbitral award and views it as an affirmation of international law, the country’s territorial integrity and its sovereign rights.
“I think the rightness of our position is validated by countries like Canada,” he said.
Marcos described the West Philippine Sea as one of the most consequential issues any Philippine president must confront.
“There are no issues before any president that are greater than that,” he said.
“Some are equally important, but that is as important as anything else that we are having to deal with.”
The president made the remarks after his official visit to Canada, where the West Philippine Sea and the 2016 arbitral award were among the issues discussed during his meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney.
