Philippines Says It Won’t Back Down, but Won’t Start a War, After Attack by Chinese Coast Guard

Chinese Coast Guard hold knives and machetes as they approach Philippine troops on a resupply mission in the Second Thomas Shoal at the disputed South China Sea on June 17, 2024. Armed Forces of the Philippines via AP

MANILA, Philippines—The president of the Philippines said Sunday his country would not yield to “any foreign power” after Chinese forces injured Filipino navy personnel and damaged at least two military boats with machetes, axes, and hammers in a clash in the disputed South China Sea, but added the Philippines would never instigate a war.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. flew with his top generals and defense chief to the western island province of Palawan, which faces the South China Sea, to meet and award medals to navy personnel who came under assault by the Chinese coast guard on June 17 as they attempted to deliver food and other supplies to an outpost on the hotly contested Second Thomas Shoal.