Death of a Filipino in South China Sea clashes would be ‘very close’ to act of war, Philippines leader warns

Singapore CNN —

The death of any Filipino citizen at the hands of another country in the South China Sea would be “very close” to an act of war, Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. warned Friday as his nation faces increasingly fraught clashes with Chinese vessels in the South China Sea.

Marcos delivered the keynote speech of the Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore, a regional gathering of global security leaders, including US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart Adm. Dong Jun.

The Philippine president was asked by a member of the audience whether a “red line” would be crossed if Chinese Coast Guard ships, which have frequently deployed water cannons against Philippine vessels in recent months, ended up killing a Filipino sailor.

“If a Filipino citizen is killed by a willful act, that is, I think, very, very close to what we define as an act of war and therefore we will respond accordingly,” he replied.

“And our treaty partners, I believe, also hold that same standard,” he added.

China has increasingly pushed its territorial claims in the South China Sea, and China Coast Guard ships, reinforced by maritime militia boats, have been involved in a series of fraught clashes over the last year that has seen Philippine ships damaged and Filipino sailors injured by water cannon.

With confrontations increasingly souring the Beijing-Manila relationship, Marcos has sought out closer ties with the United States, with which the Philippines maintains a mutual defense treaty.

As part of that relationship, the US has gained increased rights to use Philippine military bases and the two allies have expanded bilateral military exercises. US officials consistently say the mutual defense pact is