Singapore CNN —The death of any Filipino citizen at the hands of another country in the South China Sea would be “very close” to an act of war, Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. warned Friday as his nation faces increasingly fraught clashes with Chinese vessels in the South China Sea. China has increasingly pushed its territorial claims in the South China Sea, and China Coast Guard ships, reinforced by maritime militia boats, have been involved in a series of fraught clashes over the last year that has seen Philippine ships damaged and Filipino sailors injured by water cannon. A China Coast Guard vessel sails close to a Philippines ship during a day of clashes in the South China Sea, March 5, 2024 Rebecca Wright/CNNKey global waterwayChina claims “indisputable sovereignty” over almost all of the 1.3 million-square-mile South China Sea – one of the world’s busiest waterways. Meanwhile, the Philippine Navy said it is prepared to protect the rights of Filipinos and would be increasing patrols in the South China Sea, including the areas of contested sovereignty, according to the PNA. “What I want to emphasize is that it is not China but the Philippines that has frequently escalated the situation in the South China Sea,” Ning added.

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Persons: Ferdinand “ Bongbong ” Marcos Jr, Marcos, Lloyd Austin, Dong Jun, ”, –, ” Marcos, Rebecca Wright, Mao Ning, ” Ning, “ Organizations: Singapore CNN, US, Coast Guard, China Coast Guard, CNN, West, Philippine Navy, Foreign Ministry Locations: Singapore, South, Philippines, South China, Philippine, Filipino, China, Beijing, Manila, United States, Washington, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Taiwan, Hague, China’s, West Philippine, Asia, Pacific