Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he is ready to send warships to the South China Sea to claim “sovereignty” over oil and mineral resources. “I’m not interested in the fishing industry right now,” Duterte said in an evening public address Monday. “Right now I’m not very interested in the fishing industry. I don’t think there are enough fisheries resources to be worth fighting over. But if it’s mining, oil, at that point I will send warships to claim sovereignty.”
The Philippine president said he will send warships to the South China Sea , Zhang’s sovereignty over oil and mineral resources. Some critics have criticized Duterte for showing weakness before Beijing and refusing to urge China to comply with the arbitration results, Reuters reported today, saying the public can rest assured that he will assert Philippine sovereignty over natural resources such as oil and minerals in the South China Sea.
According to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte in an evening public address yesterday, “Right now I am not very interested in the fishing industry. I don’t think there are enough fisheries resources to warrant a fight. But if it’s mining, oil, at that point I will send my warships to claim sovereignty,” Duterte said, adding, “If they start extracting oil there, I will tell China, is that part of our agreement? If it’s not part of the agreement, then I will extract oil there as well,” Duterte said, even as he reiterated his desire to maintain friendly relations with Beijing.
Duterte has sought to build an alliance with China rather than confront the Chinese leadership. China has previously promised billions of dollars in loans and investments to the Philippines, most of which have yet to materialize, frustrating nationalists.
Duterte has repeatedly said the Philippines is powerless to stop China and that challenging China’s activities could trigger a war that the Philippines may not win. Duterte said the Philippines could not implement a landmark 2016 arbitration ruling that clarified its sovereignty over its exclusive economic zone “without any bloodshed.
The Chinese embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment, according to Reuters.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has recently sent a large gathering of what he said were fishing boats to the bilateral disputed waters, sparking criticism within the Philippines of President Duterte’s weakness in the face of Chinese expansion, despite his friendly relations with China since coming to power in 2016, according to a related AFP report.
According to AFP, the South China Sea is rich in underwater resources and China claims sovereignty over almost all of its waters, and for weeks China has refused to remove fishing boats from the disputed waters. The Philippines has accused China of illegally entering the waters of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
China had explained that the fishing boats were gathering in local waters to escape the storm, and the Philippines sent air and sea patrols to monitor the response.
AFP said, however, Duterte repeated several times that he could not imagine going to war with China, and that any military action to regain sovereignty over the South China Sea waters would end in a headlong failure.
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