Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has denied he will lodge a protest with China over suspected rocket debris collected in the South China Sea.

A metal object was found floating in waters off the Philippine-held island of Pagasa on Sunday. It appeared to be debris from a rocket China launched at the end of October.

The Philippine navy said the Chinese coast guard seized the object from a Philippine naval boat that had collected it.

The Chinese foreign ministry says the Philippines handed over the object to Chinese coast guard officials after friendly negotiations at the site.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Marcos said the Asia Pacific region is "heating up." Likening the incident to a fire, he said mistakes and misunderstandings would cause the fire to grow.

Marcos is scheduled to visit China in January for the first time since he took office.