The Philippine president is currently on a visit to Washington.
"We work for peace. We’ll not encourage any provocative action that involve the Philippines by any other country. We will not allow that to happen, we will not allow the Philippines to be used as a staging post by any country for any kind of military action," Marcos told reporters, as quoted by the TV broadcaster.
The Philippine leader noted that his priority is to ensure peace and security for the country’s people.
Last month, the United States and the Philippines agreed to expand their Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) to four new locations, one of them near the South China Sea. Commenting on the agreement, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that it would lead to "more tensions and less peace and stability" in the region. Commenting on these remarks, Marcos, in turn, said the country’s military bases will not be used to conduct offensive operations.
The EDCA was signed in 2014 between the US and the Philippines with the aim of strengthening the military cooperation of the two countries. The document envisages joint military exercises and higher interoperability between the armed forces of the US and the Philippines. Under the EDCA, the US is not allowed to have permanent military bases in the Philippines, but the agreement provides for US troops' extended stays on the Philippine military bases.