Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gestures with a fist bump during his visit to the Philippine Army’s Camp Mateo Capinpin at Tanay township, Rizal province east of Manila, Philippines Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2016. He has been seeking talks with China on the long-unresolved conflict.
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Mr Duterte had said repeatedly that he did not want to anger China with an aggressive response, and sent an envoy to ease tensions, but yesterday he signalled he was prepared to adopt a more confrontational approach.
Welcoming Duterte’s remarks, Lu said China will always work with countries directly concerned, including the Philippines, to resolve any dispute through peaceful negotiation and consultation.
China’s ambassador to the Philippines, Zhao Jianhua, was summoned Tuesday after national police chief Gen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa told a Senate inquiry into reported extrajudicial killings under anti-drug operations that most illegal narcotics and their raw materials came from China. “I would walk the extra mile to ask for peace for everybody”. However, he stated that that Philippines’ military should be ready to defend country’s territory.
“I guarantee to (China), if you enter here, it will be bloody”.
“And we will not give in to them easily. It will be the bones of our soldiers, pati na yung akin [as well as mine]. Last month, a UN-backed global arbitration tribunal dismissed China’s claims over the disputed region saying that the country has no legal rights to the contested territory.
The ruling issued in July by the Arbitral Tribunal at The Hague, which China called biased and illegal, has harmed bilateral ties and put pressure on Duterte.
The President said he does not plan to raise the maritime dispute during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Laos which he will attend unless another country brings it up.
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“I’m just going to say that we continue to work with the Filipino government on a broad range of bilateral and regional issues, while at the same time making clear that as the Philippines addresses issues that touch on human rights we’re going to make our concerns clear”.
