‘We’re just boosting our defences’

Keeping the peace: Marcos Jr attending the Day of Valour rites in Bataan, Philippines. — The Straits Times/ANN

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr assured China that military bases accessible to the United States would not be used in any offensive action, stressing the arrangement with Washington was designed to boost his country’s defences.

China’s foreign ministry last week said the United States strengthening military deployment in the Philippines would only lead to more tension in the region, after Manila allowed Washington access to more of its bases.