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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will bring up the 2016 Hague ruling during his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping when he visits China towards the end of this month, Duterte’s spokesman announced at a press conference in the Malacañang Palace today.
Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said that “the time has come” for Duterte to bring up the ruling, which declared that the Philippines has exclusive rights to most of the West Philippine Sea and that China’s claims to the area are invalid. Duterte has been criticized for appearing to be pro-China in his hesitance to invoke the ruling from the United Nations-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration.
Panelo said he had a discussion with Duterte yesterday about what the president plans to discuss with Xi during his China visit.
“He said, ‘Remember that I said before that there will be a time when I will invoke the arbitral ruling? This is the time; that’s why I am going there.’ That’s what he said,” Panelo recalled.
The spokesman said Duterte felt it was time to bring it up now that he is mid-way through his six-year term.
“Because his (Duterte’s) term is about to end. He’s also interested in that 60-40 joint exploration on minerals and oil. They will talk about that,” Panelo said.
In November, Duterte and Xi signed a memorandum of agreement where they agreed that the Philippines and China would conduct a joint exploration of oil and gas in the West Philippine Sea. Panelo said that should the joint exploration move forward, the Philippines will get 60 percent of the profits of what could be extracted from the area.
When asked how Duterte plans to talk to Xi, Panelo did not provide too many details.
“It will be a one-on-one dialogue…Let’s see how the president finds a way….Let’s see how it goes when he goes there.”
Read: Drugs, Death Penalty, West PH Sea: Highlights from Duterte’s 2019 SONA
Panelo said that Duterte will stand his ground when he brings up the Hague ruling.
“The president is always firm. There is no doubt about it,” Panelo said.
During his recent State of the Nation Address last month, Duterte said that the West Philippine Sea remains part of the country’s territory but that the Philippines’ claim has to be “temper[ed] with the reality we face today,” he said.
Duterte has been criticized for his defeatist attitude towards the West Philippine Sea, often saying that the Philippines cannot beat China.
Panelo said that Duterte also plans to discuss the Recto Bank (aka Reed Bank) incident in his China visit.
“Of course he wants to resolve the Recto Bank incident. Who was responsible for that and what will be the compensation for that,” he said.
On June 9, a Chinese-owned vessel hit a Filipino boat and abandoned 22 Filipino fishermen at sea. According to the Filipino boat’s captain Junel Insigne, the Chinese crew members turned their lights on after hitting their ship, saw the Filipinos in the water screaming for help, then sped away without doing anything.
However, the Chinese Embassy in Manila released a statement rejecting reports that called the incident a hit and run. It said that the Chinese crew did not rescue the Filipino men for fear that they will be besieged by other Filipino boats. Insigne rejected this claim and said they were the only Filipino boat in the Recto Bank when the incident occurred.
President Rodrigo Duterte has repeatedly downplayed the incident, calling the event as “just a collision of ships,” and not something to wage war over.
