MANILA -- The Philippines can’t ignore what is happening in the West Philippine Sea, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said on Thursday as he stressed the need to find a way to keep regional peace and to respond to the actual situation.

“When it comes to foreign policy and that we analyze geopolitics, this is the most important thing that we must find a way to keep it (WPS) at peace. That is what the Philippines will always work for,” President Marcos said in welcoming newly-appointed Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Endo Kazuya in Malacañang.

“However, we also have to respond to the actual situation on the ground. They cannot cover our eyes and pretend that nothing happened,” he said.

Japan’s assistance to the Philippines in terms of not only in equipment but also in training is very important, Marcos said, especially if supported by other allies such as Australia, United States, Japan and South Korea.

According to the President, there are additional dimensions to the Philippine-Japan relationship, which now feature security and defense, as he stressed the need to adjust the way the two nations do business together.

The goal, he said, is to keep the South China Sea as an area where there is freedom of navigation and trade in that part of the world. “That’s all we wish for and so we are happy that once we try to do that we have you as part of it,” President Marcos said. (PND)