Philippines can’t stop China moves
INTRUSION: President says he can’t stop Beijing from building on disputed shoal
MANILA: The Philippines cannot stop China from building an environmental monitoring station on a shoal within the country’s exclusive economic zone, President Rodrigo Duterte said on Sunday.
Duterte lamented that even the United States has not been able to stop China from its reclamation and building activities in the disputed South China Sea.
“We cannot stop China from doing its thing,” he said when asked about reported plans by China to build the monitoring stations on a number of territories in the South China Sea.
“Even the Americans could block them,” he added.
According to reports from Beijing, not one of the stations would be built on Scarborough Shoal, an area claimed by the Philippines but was seized by China in 2012 after a standoff between ships of the two countries.
Last year, an international arbitration tribunal ruled that China violated the rights of Filipino fishermen in seizing the shoal and stopping them from fishing in the area.
The tribunal also invalidated Beijing’s claims to almost the entire South China Sea, a key shipping lane believed to be rich in mineral and marine resources.
Duterte said he has repeatedly told Chinese officials that he would not invoke the arbitral tribunal’s ruling for now as he seeks to mend relations with China and boost trade and investment ties.
“There will be a time in my term when I will bring the issue back on the table on. When? When they shall start to tinker with entitlements,” he said.
Duterte said he could declare war against China for its intrusions, but noted that the Philippines would lose out in the end.
“What do you want me to do? Delcare war against China?” he said. “I can but we’ll all lose all our military and policemen tomorrow, and we are a destroyed nation.“
Aside from the Philippines and China, the countries of Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also have overlapping claims to parts of the South China Sea.