Chinese ships, including a navy vessel, confronted Philippine vessels close to a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said his nation won’t deploy Navy warships to the South China Sea in response to recent clashes with Beijing in disputed waters.

Diplomats and representatives from the militaries and coast guards of the United States, Japan and the Philippines had a maritime dialogue against a backdrop of clashes involving Philippine and Chinese vessels in the South China Sea.

The Philippine Navy (PN) expressed support for President Marcos Jr.’s decision not to send warships in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), stressing that they are not worried by China’s “grey zone” warfare anyway.

The Philippine Navy on Wednesday said it would continue conducting patrols in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) but vowed not react to the continuing aggressive actions of China, which has used its own navy in the area.

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday said the Philippines would not send warships to the West Philippine Sea (WPS) despite the involvement of China's navy in the most recent incident of harassment of Filipino vessels.

The Philippines will never be part of the escalation of tensions in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), President Marcos declared yesterday as he rejected the deployment of Navy warships despite China’s persistent aggression within Philippine waters.