PRAGUE, Czech Republic — President Marcos highlighted the importance of maintaining a rules-based order in the South China Sea, saying a safe passage in the disputed area would benefit not just the region but the entire world given the substantial amount of commerce that goes through it.

Marcos said this as the Philippines and Germany agreed to boost defense cooperation to cover maritime and cyber domains amid tensions in the West Philippine Sea.

"It has to be recognized that the South China Sea handles 60 percent of the trade of the entire world. So, it’s not solely the interest of the Philippines, ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), or the Indo-Pacific region but the entire world," he said.

"That is why it’s in all our interest to keep it as a safe passage for all international commerce that goes on in the South China Sea,” he added.

Despite this, Marcos said the Philippines will continue to do what it can to defend its maritime territory amid the Chinese incursions in the disputed waters and despite Chinese President Xi Jinping’s statements urging its armed forces to coordinate for possible conflicts at sea.

According to Marcos, there was nothing new to Xi’s statements, saying it has been China’s consistent policy for the last two or three years.

"I’m not surprised, but we will have to continue to do what we can to defend our maritime territory in the face of perhaps a more active attempt by the Chinese to annex some of our territory,” he said.

During his trip to Germany, President Marcos underscored the importance for like-minded countries to "present a united front against any unilateral attempts to take territory from any other country."

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz assured President Marcos of Germany’s continued support and commitment to increasing maritime cooperation with the Philippines including other cooperative endeavors between the two countries.