Manila, Aug. 14 -- President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said Friday the Philippines has no intention of becoming a "belligerent" nation in the Indo-Pacific, stressing that the country remains focused on defending its territory, exercising its sovereign rights, and promoting regional peace and stability.

"The Philippines has no desire to be a belligerent nation in the region. We have no interest in that," Marcos said during a presidential luncheon hosted by the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines at the Diamond Hotel Philippines in Manila.

He said the Philippines would continue to defend its territory, exercise its sovereign rights, and uphold its territorial independence.

"That is all that the Philippines is concerned w...