President Rodrigo Duterte arrived in Beijing on Wednesday to discuss the South China Sea, and to invoke the 2016 arbitral ruling that rejected China’s sweeping claims in the area.
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The government is hopeful that Chinese President Xi Jinping will have “open ears” when President Duterte raises the maritime issues, Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo told reporters hours before the arrival of the Chief Executive.
“The President said he will raise it whether or not China likes it, but I think China will have open ears. After all, they kept on saying they are friends and friends can always talk on anything,” Panelo said.
Duterte, who will hold bilateral talks with Xi on Thursday, has vowed to assert Manila’s victory in the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which invalidated China’s claims in almost the entire South China Sea.
After setting the ruling aside for his first three years in office, Duterte said the “time has come” for him to raise it in his talks with the Chinese leader.
“You just cannot talk air. They said don’t bring it up. I said no… Whether you like it or not, whether it will make you happy or not, I’m sorry. But we have to talk about the arbitral ruling,” he said in a speech last week.
He said, however, that he would not pick a fight with China, saying the country cannot afford to go against its military might.
“We cannot go to war against them. I will just feed my military and police to the mouths of hell,” he said.
China has refused to recognize the ruling and occupies some areas in the disputed seas.
“We do not know how China will take it but I suppose, as I said earlier, they are open to that, whether they like it or not, they really have to talk about it because it’s causing irritants between the two countries,” Panelo said.
The Department of Foreign Affairs previously bared that it was Xi who invited Duterte to visit China barely four months after the latter’s recent trip. This marks Duterte’s fifth trip to China since he took office in 2016.
“It’s really time they talk about it because if the concern is maritime security and peace in the region, then they really have to talk because this has been a source of some irritants,” Panelo added.
The government has recently filed diplomatic protests against unannounced passage of Chinese vessels within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
Aside from the arbitral ruling, Duterte said he will also discuss the Code of Conduct on the South China Sea that will outline peaceful resolutions of maritime disputes.
The President also said he will push for a 60-40 joint oil and gas exploration deal with China in some oil-rich areas in the West Philippine Sea.
On Thursday, Duterte is also scheduled to attend the signing of agreements between Philippines and China, which will host a dinner banquet for the Philippine delegation.
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