Oil behind China’s presence in South China Sea – Duterte

China is interested in finding oil resources to fuel its industrial development, President Duterte recently said amid the Asian superpower's controversial presence in the South China Sea.

The President made this observation as he talked about the practice of rich countries to exhaust oil resources elsewhere in the world to boost industrialization.

"It’s really the resources, eventually it’s geopolitics. China, with all of its whatever, posturing there, is also interested in oil. So lahat ‘yan because it fuels industrialization,” Duterte said during the celebration of Eid'l Fitr, the end of the Muslim feast of Ramadan, in Davao City last Saturday.

The Philippines and China are locked in a dispute over ownership of some islands in the South China Sea. The President however has refused to wage war with China and instead agreed to a joint oil exploration in the region.

Duterte noted that western nations want to conquer oil-rich countries like those in the Middle East to propel the economic growth.

"The secret is the oil. ‘Yung ang problema. And they used the resources of that country and the fat of the land to reach or arrive now on their present level of industrialization," he said.

"Anywhere you look in this world, even the mic in front of me and the glass of water, and the paper that I will be reading or I may not. Lahat ‘yan, it’s oil. It’s oil there outside. You’d see many vehicles produced by the --- even the primitive lathe machines and that is a product of an equipment or machine using oil," he said.

Duterte said the problem is that the massive industrialization of the world's richest nations has caused climate change.

He said the Philippines and other developing nations could no longer catch up with the industrialized states especially after countries are being compelled to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to prevent further global warming.

"Ang problema dito is the western countries, the democracies they have reached this height of industrialization. Now we are trying to catch up. But the Philippines and the rest could not because mataas na sila," he said.

"And so it created a monster in the lives of the people on earth, and that is the destruction of environment and puts into jeopardy the next generation. Maghirap ‘yan sila [They will become poorer]," he said.