The Mindanao Examiner Regional Newspaper
Duterte foes use ‘China issues’ to attack president
POLITICAL FOES of President Rodrigo Duterte continue to criticize him for his soft stance against Chinese occupation of islands being claimed by the Philippines and for his inaction to stop Beijing from further militarizing the South China Sea or the West Philippine Sea as Manila calls it.
Even the landing recently of a Chinese military cargo plane in Davao City is also becoming a big issue against Duterte. But Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua said all standard protocols in the country had been strictly followed.
“Well it’s your protocols we have followed. Now we have applied through your agencies, through your militaries, DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) for the landing,” Zhao said, explaning that the cargo plane stopped over in Davao to refuel on its way to New Zealand for a bilateral military exercise.
He pointed out that all foreign jets, including civilian or military, would not be allowed to land in Philippine territory without following protocols and procedures. “If you do not allow the Chinese there to land or fly over your airspace, we are not there to do that because you might shoot them down,” he said.
The Chinese envoy further said that he was “puzzled” and “surprised” that the landing caused a stir among Filipino lawmakers, including Senator Panfilo Lacson, who said that if the government allowed Chinese military planes to land in the country, it was acting like a province of China rather than an independent and sovereign state.
“I’m really puzzled and even surprised that some of the people here [are] taking the landing of Chinese military jets as a kind of military threat to the Philippines,” Zhao said.
Zhao allayed fears that the landing of the Chinese military plane might be the beginning of China’s invasion. “Please allow me to be blunt, it’s nonsense,” he said, stressing the friendly relationship between the Philippines and China. “We have never thought of going to war with our good neighbor, our good friend that is the Philippines,” Zhao said.