Duterte plans to meet Xi soon, says spokesman
MANILA: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will soon meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to discuss a 2016 arbitration case over the South China Sea, his spokesman said on Tuesday, as domestic pressure grows on the firebrand leader to stand up to Beijing.
Meanwhile, top defence and military officials expressed grave concern over the problems posed to the country’s security over the proposal for the government to allow Chinese companies to develop three islands in the Philippines as tourist destinations.
Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana identified the three areas as the Fuga island in Cagayan province in the Northern Luzon highlands as well as Grande Island and Chiquita islands in Subic Bay, Zambales province in Central Luzon.
Fuga, part of the country’s second northernmost island group, provides access to the Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea, while Subic Bay is just 260 kilometres from Panatag Shoal that China seized from the Philippines in 2012.
Lorenzana, who has been outspoken over Chinese “bullying” in the unresolved territorial dispute between the Philippines and China in the South China Sea, said they were never consulted, particularly the Philippine Navy, on the proposal to convert these three islands as tourist destinations.
Lorenzana also decried China’s tendency to build special islands as a major component in its “militarisation” of disputed territories in the South China that has worsened regional tensions and even beyond.
Confirming Lorenzana’s statement was Captain Jonathan Zata, the Navy spokesman, who pointed out that these islands are important to the Philippines, especially in terms of national security.
The two officials were reacting to an announcement from the Cagayan National Economic Zone Authority that it secured $3.9 billion worth of investments from Chinese firms for various projects including the development of the three islands.
“Historically, we’re talking about three islands and islets — Fuga in our northwestern border while Grande and Chiquita are right in the mouth of Subic,” Zata explained in an interview with media in a mix of Filipino and English.