No warships display for Marcos | The Manila Times

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has rejected the idea of deploying a warship to counter Chinese actions against the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in the West Philippine Sea, saying "we are not at war with China" and the Philippines is not, and "has never been an agent of escalation of tensions" in the disputed waterway. Marcos Jr. was commenting on a statement made earlier by the PCG spokesman Commo. Jay Tarriela that the President may opt to send a Philippine Navy warship to "reciprocate" China's actions on Dec. 4 when a PLA Navy vessel shadowed the BRP Teresa Magbanua, the PCG's largest vessel, at a distance of some 300 yards near Scarborough Shoal, known to the Philippines as Panatag or Bajo de Masinloc, off Zambales.

Tarriela's statement was clearly unauthorized and exceeded any authority he might have to speak for the President on West Philippine Sea issues. He clearly did not have the authority to publicly speculate on what the President might do or not do in response to any incident. If there was a proposal to deploy a warship in the disputed waterway, it should have been sent to the President as a secret document, so that he could study it with his military and national security advisers before making the matter public. In fact, the President should retain the option whether or not to announce his decision in the press.