PHILIPPINE President Rodrigo Duterte has made it “very clear” that the country’s friendship with China has limitations, according to Malacañang.
“He made it very clear ‘Kaibigan tayo, makikipagkaibigan ako (We are friends, I will make friends with you), but there is a limit to our friendship,’” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Tuesday, April 20.
“Pagdating na sa mga valuable resources na sa tingin ko ay talagang pag-aari ng Pilipinas, paninindigan niya iyon (When it comes to valuable resources that I think truly belong to the Philippines, he will fight for it). I think he just made it very clear na may limit at may hangganan ang pagkakaibigan (there’s limit and boundary to the friendship),” he added.
Roque’s statement came following Duterte‘s threat to deploy military ships if China starts drilling for oil in the contested waters.
The president on Monday, April 19, talked about the continued presence of Chinese vessels in the Julian Felipe Reef in the West Philippine Sea for the first time.
“I am addressing myself to the Chinese government. We want to remain friends, we want to share whatever it is. Sinabi ko naman sa inyo sa (I told you) Chinese government, I’m not so much interested now in fishing. I don’t think there’s enough fish really to quarrel about,” Duterte said in a pre-recorded public address.
“But when we start to mine, when we start to get whatever it is in the bowels of the China sea sa ating oil, diyan na ako (in our oil, that’s when I will act). Then by that time, I will send my ships there. I will send my gray ships there to stake a claim,” he added.
Duterte maintained that the Philippines’ “time” to act will be when China starts drilling for oil and other precious resources.
“Pag kinuha na yung oil, kung anong mga nickel diyan, mga precious stones (If they start digging for oil, nickel there, precious stones), that would be the time because that is the time that we should act on it,” he said.
He also said that if China starts mining for oil, the Philippines will do the same.
“Pag mag-umpisa na sila ng drill ng oil diyan, sabihin ko talaga sa China (If they start drilling oil there, I will tell China), is that part of our agreement? Because if it is not part of our agreement, I’m going to also drill my oil there. If you own it, I own it. I do not want a quarrel but that is how it is,” said Duterte.
‘Only way is war’
According to Duterte, the Philippines would not be able to reclaim the WPS without bloodshed.
“The issue of the West Philippine Sea remains to be a question forever until such time that you know, we can take it back,” he said in his taped public address.
“Ang akin ‘yan is walang iba, giyera lang (For me, there is no other way but war). If we promote a war against China and America, medyo siguro madalian, pero (we might be able to speed it up but) what at cost to us? ‘Yan talaga ang problema (That’s really the problem). But we can retake it only by force. There is no way that we can get back the Philippine Sea without any bloodshed,” he added.
Duterte also said that it will be “bloody” if the Philippines tries to assert its jurisdiction over the contested waters.
“You know the cost of war, and if we go there to find out and assert jurisdiction, it would be bloody. It would result in violence that we cannot maybe win,” he said.
Tensions between the Philippines and China resurfaced due to the presence of Chinese vessels in the Julian Felipe Reef.
For its part, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs has been filing diplomatic protests against China since March 21.
The agency also summoned Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian to express “utmost displeasure” over the presence of Chinese ships in the Julian Felipe Reef.
Last week, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) reported that it found 240 Chinese ships in various parts of the West Philippine Sea.
The vessels were reportedly “about sixty (60) meters in length” and can each catch “one (1) ton of fish amounts to a conservative total of 240,000 kilos of fish illegally taken from Philippine waters every single day.”
According to the task force, the acts fall under “illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUUF).”
“This act is a blatant violation of Philippine fisheries and wildlife laws, and the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES),” the NTF-WPS said.
