SUMMARY
MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expanded the list of people whose potential deaths from a foreign attack would result in Manila invoking its defense pact with the United States, as tensions between the Philippines and China in the West Philippine Sea escalate further.
“What would happen if there was an incident that ended up killing a Filipino serviceman, be it a coast guard, or in the military or navy? That would certainly increase the level of response, and if… not only a serviceman, but 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 would respond accordingly,” President Marcos said on Friday night, May 31, after his high-profile address at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asi…