Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has said he would send warships to defend the Philippines’ claim to sovereignty in the South China Sea if Beijing drills for oil there.
Duterte has fallen back on China since taking office in 2016, but has faced growing domestic criticism in recent days over his reluctance to offend Beijing over the South China Sea.
Tensions between the Philippines and China rose last month over the gathering of hundreds of Chinese ships on Niu Yoke Reef in the Spratlys, and repeated requests by the Philippines to remove the ships have been rebuffed by the Chinese. Manila accused the hundreds of vessels of being Chinese maritime militia boats, but the Chinese side insisted they were purely fishing boats.
I’m not that interested in fishing at this point in time,” Duterte said in a televised statement last night. I don’t think the catch is so big that it’s worth arguing about. But when it comes to the mineral deposits, when it comes to the real heart of the South China Sea – our oil – then I will send my grey ships (meaning warships) to the area to claim sovereignty. But he still stressed his willingness to maintain friendship and share interests with the Chinese side.
A day before Duterte’s speech, it was rumored that social media groups, including members of the military, demanded that the president denounce China or they would no longer support him as commander-in-chief of the three armed forces; the Philippine military top brass later dispelled the rumors.
Duterte also said it is not the time to confront China, “now run to assert jurisdiction, it will only end in bloodshed.
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