Philippine leader urges military to focus on South China Sea

ABC News:

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine president said the main mission of his country’s military has changed to ensure the protection of its territory as disputes with China and U.S.-China rivalry intensify.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stressed the urgency of shifting the military’s focus to external defense in a speech before troops Monday afternoon. He spoke two weeks after summoning China’s ambassador to protest the use of a military-grade laser by the Chinese coast guard that briefly blinded some of the crew of a Philippine patrol vessel in the South China Sea.

The Philippines condemned the Feb. 6. incident in one of the more than 200 diplomatic protests it has filed against Beijing’s increasingly aggressive actions in the disputed waterway since last year.

China has accused the Philippines of intruding into its territory and said its coast guard used a harmless laser to track the Philippine vessel. China claims the South China Sea virtually in its entirety.

“I’m saying that your mission in the AFP has changed,” Marcos told the troops, referring to the Armed Forces of the Philippines. “For many, many years, we were able to maintain that peace and maintain that understanding with all of our neighbors. Now things have begun to change and we must adjust accordingly.”