Duterte: No assurance US on our side

THE PHILIPPINES has no assurance that the United States of America will remain by its side if war breaks out in the disputed South China Sea region, President Rodrigo R. Duterte said.

Mr. Duterte made his remarks during the ceremonial opening of an onshore oil project in Alegria, Cebu, on Saturday, May 19.

“You know, that’s my lamentation. We are in the West Philippine Sea, but we have a problem,” he said.

“We are caught in a limbo. We don’t have the assurance that America will remain by our side if a war breaks out,” he added.

The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) said last Friday, May 18, that the Pezople’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) of China has “landed bombers, including the top-of-the-line H-6K, on an outpost in the South China Sea for the first time.”

“Nearly all of the Philippines falls within the radius of the bombers, including Manila and all five Philippine military bases earmarked for development under the U. S.- Philippines Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement,” the AMTI said on its Web site.

“China has built large hangars at all three of its ‘ Big 3’ outposts in the Spratlys ( Subi, Mischief, and Fiery Cross Reefs) that can accommodate bombers like the H-6 series (as well as large transport, patrol, and refueling aircraft),” the AMTI said.

Mr. Duterte told his audience in Cebu: “Don’t believe that I didn’t do anything about the issue, that I just let it be. I told him [Chinese President Xi Jinping] this straight. I said, ‘I’m going there to dig my oil.’”

“And then he (Chinese president Xi Jinping) said, ‘ We have just become friends and we have just begun to get to know each other. Let’s not ruin the relationship that we have.’”

“He’s Chinese. That’s how they are. You know, my grandfather was a Chinese based in Cebu. From here,” the President added.

He also said China has planes, “not stationed in Spratlys but in Chinese provinces facing... the South China Sea.” — with