HONOLULU, Hawaii — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has vowed to protect the Philippines' territory in the West Philippine Sea, saying that the country will not give up "a single square inch" of its land to any foreign power.

In his speech during the Daniel K. Inouye (DKI) Speaker Series hosted by the APCSS here on Sunday (US Time), Marcos said that the West Philippine Sea is a "vital area" for the Philippines and that the country is committed to upholding its sovereign rights in the region.

"The Indo-Pacific region, particularly the West Philippine Sea, is in the middle of a global geopolitical transformation and has become an arena of normative contestation," Marcos said.

"Tensions in the West Philippine Sea are growing, with persistent unlawful threats and challenges against Philippine sovereign rights and jurisdiction over our exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf," he added.

Marcos said that the Philippines will continue to work with its allies and partners to uphold the rules-based international order in the region. He also called for greater cooperation in developing rules and processes to address the challenges in the West Philippine Sea.

"The Philippines appreciates certainly the concrete manifestations of the US and the growing number of our other partners in support for the Philippine position," Marcos said.

"The strong factual messaging and support to our local exercise of our rights under international law, and which we'll call out recent incidents in our EEZ, it demonstrates the strength of our alliances and partnerships challenges attempts to perpetuate false narratives that has become a very important front in all of these events that are happening in and around the Philippines."

Marcos: Rhetorics alone is "not enough"

While Marcos vowed that the Philippines would not give up "a single square inch" of its territory, he also acknowledged that strong rhetoric alone is not enough.

Hence, he said that the Philippines will upgrade its defense and civilian law enforcement capabilities to protect its territory better. He said that the country needs to "become a reliable partner in promoting and guaranteeing regional security."