MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday tagged China's latest threat of detaining "trespassers" in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) an "act of escalation" amid the two countries' long-standing territorial dispute over the waterway.

Speaking to the Philippine media delegation at the conclusion of his two-day state visit to Brunei Darussalam, Marcos said that Beijing's new policy was "a worrisome development."

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