The Philippines will be sending a note verbale to China following the incident near Pagasa island wherein Filipino and Chinese forces had a confrontatio, President Ferdinan d'bongbong' Marcos Jr. said Tuesday.
"Yes, I think that that’s what we need to do," Marcos told reporters when he was asked if a note verbale would be sent to China over the incident.
"When it was first reported to me by the Chief of Staff, I asked him to immediately call his… the Philippine… the military attaché in the Chinese embassy and to get a report," he continued.
On Monday, Wescom Commander Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos reported that the Naval Station Emilio Liwanag (NSEL) team tried to retrieve the said floating object after they spotted it drifting 800 yards off Pag-asa Island.
However, the object was then "forcefully" taken by the Chinese coast guard.
The Chinese Embassy, however, dismissed the allegations and claimed that the reports were “inconsistent with the facts.”
President Marcos said the issue must be resolved, adding that he has "complete trust" with the country's naval forces.
"Hindi nagtugma ‘yung report ng Philippine Navy at saka ‘yung report na galing sa China because the word ‘forcibly’ was used in the Navy, in the Philippine Navy report. And that was not the characterization in the Chinese navy report or the report coming from China. So we have to resolve this issue," he said.
Earlier, National Security Adviser Clarita Carlos said she already recommended to Marcos the sending of a note verbale to Beijing.
The incident happened a day before United States Vice President Kamala Harris’ scheduled visit to Palawan Island, the edge of the disputed West Philippine Sea.
