Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro is inclined to know what former President Rodrigo Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed during their recent meeting to “judge if it is a cause for concern or not.”
But Teodoro on Thursday also expressed support for all kinds of moves meant to connect with Beijing, which saw its relations with Manila warm considerably under Duterte.
In a press conference, Teodoro said the Department of Defense would like to know the outcome of the meeting, noting that the administration encourages all efforts to engage with China, especially amid the ongoing disputes in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
He said that as a former leader of the country, the defense establishment is expecting Duterte’s priority to be the interest of the Philippines during the meeting with Xi.
“We’d like to wait as to what was the outcome of such a meeting and we encourage all efforts, anyway, to engage with China on a track to [diplomacy or] non-formal track,” said Teodoro.
“From where I sit, my position is to build a credible deterrent posture against all threats,” he added.
Xi met Duterte on Monday, July 17, at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he was aware of the meeting and was confident his predecessor would share details of the discussion.
Mr. Marcos said it is not important who is talking with Xi as long as somebody is having a conversation with China, which may help in resolving issues in the region.
China refuses to recognize the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague, Netherlands in favor of the Philippines, invalidating its claims within the sea areas falling within its so-called nine-dash line that is over 90 percent of the WPS.
The ruling also affirmed the traditional and legitimate fishing rights of Filipino fishermen in the area.
Duterte, in one of his Talk to the People public addresses during his term, said the arbitral ruling is nothing but a piece of paper that can be put to trash.
But in contrast, Duterte, addressing the United Nations General Assembly in September 2021, said no country can disregard or diminish the five-year ruling of the PCA.
He maintained that the disputes should be resolved “peacefully,” noting that China is an allied country of the Philippines.