The Philippine president said the main mission of his country's military has changed to ensure the protection of its territory as disputes with China and U.S.-China rivalry intensify.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stressed the urgency of shifting the military’s focus to external defense in a speech before troops Monday afternoon. He spoke two weeks after summoning China's ambassador to protest the use of a military-grade laser by the Chinese coast guard that briefly blinded some of the crew of a Philippine patrol vessel in the South China Sea.
