Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos expressed concern on Wednesday over Beijing's actions in the South China Sea, following recent confrontations between the two countries in the disputed waters.
“We continue to view these dangerous maneuvers and actions against our sailors and coast guards with great concern,” Marcos said in an official transcript of his press statements.
Tensions in the South China Sea have escalated this week.
The Philippine Coast Guard accused its Chinese counterparts of using water cannons to cause collisions with two of its boats and injure four of its personnel on Tuesday near the disputed Second Thomas Reef, a regular scene of confrontations.
“I think we can only look at the matter with the utmost seriousness,” Mr. Marcos said.
“We will once again make our objections known and hope that we can continue to communicate to find a way to no longer see such actions,” he added.
Manila summoned a Chinese representative on Tuesday over the incidents, telling him that it considers these “aggressive measures” to be “unacceptable.”
Beijing, for its part, expressed “strong protests” after these incidents, Chinese diplomatic spokesman Mao Ning reported on Tuesday.
Despite a 2016 international court ruling, Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, including waters and islands off the coasts of several neighboring countries.