BBC:
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has warned China not to cross a red line in the South China Sea, where a standoff between the countries continues to escalate.
If any Filipino died as a result of China’s wilful actions, he said on Friday, the Philippines would consider it as close to “an act of war” and respond accordingly.
Mr Marcos was speaking at a security forum in Singapore attended by defence chiefs from around the world, including the US’s Lloyd Austin.
He stressed the region remained a main focus for Washington, and that the US was only secure if Asia was too.
In recent months the longstanding dispute between China and the Philippines over territory in the South China Sea has sharpened into aggressive clashes.
Manila has complained vociferously about Chinese patrol ships firing water cannon at Philippine boats and supply vessels.
Beijing has said that it is defending its sovereignty. At the summit, a Chinese military spokesman accused the Philippines of making “provocations”.
Observers fear that any escalation could spark a conflict in the South China Sea between the Chinese and Americans. The US is bound by a treaty signed with the Philippines to come to the South East Asian nation’s defence, should it come under attack.
The US has said it will stand by its commitments to its allies in the region, and has sought to draw them closer including holding a summit with the Philippines and Japan last month.
On Friday night, Mr Marcos had just finished delivering the opening address at the Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore when a delegate posed a hypothetical situation where Chinese water cannon killed a Filipino soldier. He was asked if he would consider that a red line, and if this would invoke the US-Philippines treaty.
“If by a wilful act a Filipino – not only serviceman, but even Filipino citizen – is killed… that is what I think very, very close to what we define as an act of war and therefore we will respond accordingly. And our treaty partners, I believe, also hold that same standard.”
He noted that Filipinos have been injured in recent clashes, but none had been killed yet. “Once we get to that point, that is certainly, we would have crossed the Rubicon. Is that a red line? Almost certainly it’s going to be a red line.”
Asked by the BBC for comment, a Chinese military spokesman said that “if only one personnel was accidentally killed in a conflict or accident that triggers war, then I really believe it’s a belligerent country”.
He also took issue with Mr Marcos criticising China’s moves to claim sovereignty in his speech, and accused the Philippines of “deflecting the blame on China”.
