President Rodrigo Duterte has publicly said an unspecified number of Chinese nationals were involved in the illegal drug trade in the Philippines and that illegal drugs have been smuggled from China to the Philippines. “They seem to be reconciliatory”, he added. “They better come up what they (China) really want”, the President said.
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Meanwhile, Yasay also said he has submitted to the Office of the President a shortlist of possible candidates as the country’s ambassador to China, but refused to divulge their names.
“We’re not insisting on arbitral judgement”, President Duterte said to the more than 300 government troops during his visit at the 2nd Infantry Division of the Philippine Army here. President Duterte’s threat to withdraw the Philippines from the United Nations, later cushioned by his foreign secretary, is the latest flamboyantly irreverent utterance from a politician who has disparaged the pope, human rights advocates, the United States and other countries who controvert his worldview.
Duterte also said he would “not raise hell now” about an worldwide court ruling that China had no legal right to claim a large swath of the South China Sea, in a case brought by the Philippines.
“If you (China) enter here [in the Philippine territory], it will be bloody and we will not give it to them easily”.
“We want to make close friendship with China”.
“I admit many are dying but our campaign, now, we have the momentum”, dela Rosa said.
“I had asked him [Chinese ambassador] for his clarifications explaining this matter [on drugs coming from China]”, he said. “It will be the bones of our soldiers, you can include mine”.
An global 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.
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“We will not raise hell now because of the judgment, but there will come a time that we have to do some reckoning about this”, Duterte said.
