Duterte again said that he does not plan to bring the South China Sea dispute in the ASEAN summit in Vientiane, Laos next month, saying he would rather talk about the issue face to face with China.
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In a report by Balitang America New York Correspondent Don Tagala on The Filipino Channel, HRW Deputy Asia Director Phelium Kine said, “In terms of foreign aid or foreign support for various Philippine Agencies and programs – this is something – an obligation of the worldwide community to support the Filipino people, and to support their universal rights and freedoms which the Philippine government right now is absolutely trampling and streamrolling”.
An worldwide tribunal ruled last month that China’s claims to most of the strategically vital waters had no legal basis, in what was seen as a sweeping victory for the Philippines, which filed the case.
The drug trafficking crackdown and some strongly worded criticisms Duterte has made of the USA since coming to power present a dilemma for Washington, which has been seeking to forge unity among allies and partners in Asia in the face of an increasingly assertive China, especially in the strategic South China Sea.
At the same time, a spokeswoman for the US State Department, Anna Richey-Allen, said Washington “urge (d) that negotiation should be undertaken on terms acceptable to all parties, free from coercion or the use or threat of force”.
President Duterte has instructed Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez to lift all taxes considered to be anti-poor and gender-biased, a Palace official said on Tuesday.
“China should be hearing us out now”. Beijing’s territorial claims to the Spratly Islands, known as Nansha Islands in China, which are believed to be rich in oil and gas reserves, run counter to those of the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam.
Duterte sent ex-president Fidel Ramos to Hong Kong for an ice-breaking meeting this month with Fu Ying, chair of the foreign affairs committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s communist-controlled legislature.
Duterte said in a strongly worded late-night news conference on Sunday the Philippines might leave the United Nations and invite China and others to form a new global forum, accusing it of failing to fulfill its mandate.
Duterte’s predecessor, Benigno Aquino III, initiated the arbitration case against China.
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China and the Philippines, as friendly neighbours, have the ability and wisdom to settle the issue through consultation and restore friendly relations, Lu said.
