President Duterte to China: Treat Filipinos as brothers not enemies

President Duterte has appealed to China to treat Filipinos as brothers, not enemies and understand the plight of Filipino fishermen now affected by the maritime dispute.

The President made the appeal in his speech during the National Heroes’ Day celebration yesterday attended by members of the diplomatic corps, including Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig.

Affirming that peace is

the only way to resolve the territorial dispute, the President said he hopes China would “understand” the plight of the “poor” fishermen trying to make a living in the area.

“(I hope) the Chinese people this time may find a place in their hearts for the Filipinos after all I come from, there’s Chinese blood in me. I hope you treat as your brothers, not enemies, and take note of the plight of our citizens,” the President said.

“Maybe, just maybe, if we continue to treat each other as brothers and continue to understand especially the plight of the fishermen... They are there because they are poor,” Duterte added directing his remarks at the Chinese Ambassador.

The Chinese ambassador was one of the early well wishers of Duterte in Davao City after his landslide win. During that meeting, the President conveyed to Ambassador Zhao his concern about the harsh treatment Filipino fishermen have been getting from the Chinese coastguard patrolling the disputed waters and appealed that the Filipino fishermen be allowed to fish in PH territory.

Common fishing area The President shared in his earlier speech that he received information that the Filipinos were allowed in the waters near Scarborough shoal after he made a personal appeal.

The Arbitral Tribunal ruled that both Filipino and Chinese fishermen have traditional fishing rights in the Scarborough shoal effectively declaring the area a common fishing ground.

The President told the Chinese ambassador he would “keep silent” and avoid flaunting the arbitration ruling for now. “I will never bring the matter because it might lead to the suspension of the talks with China and that is not good, Mr. Ambassador,” he said.

“I will not use the arbitral judgment now, but I would one day sit in front of your representative or you and then I will lay there my position and I would say that this paper, I cannot go out of the four corners of this document and that is the arbitral judgment,” the President said.

Duterte said he would not go to war with China.

“I don’t go to war. There’s always war and peace. If I am not ready for war, then, peace is the only way,” he said.

“For now, Mr. Ambassador, I want to just talk to you for the moment. Maybe give us time to build our forces also. You have so much superiority,” he said, eliciting laughter from the crowd.

Friends and partners Meantime, the Chinese ambassador assured that they are open to discussing the President’s appeal concerning Filipino fishermen.

“We will look into the possibility of how we handle it,” Zhao said in an interview with reporters at the sidelines of the National Heroes Day ceremony.

The ambassador said they also look forward to the bilateral talks with the Philippines to tackle “common interests” despite the maritime row.

“Right now, we need to change our focus. We need to change our focus from differences to common interests so that we can concentrate on cooperation that will benefit our two people,” he said.

He also affirmed the friendly relations between the Philippines and China, saying they hope such ties would be further enhanced.

“The Filipinos are always in the hearts of Chinese people. We have been friends and partners and even relatives for over a thousand years. Despite the troubles we have, we are confident that the friendship will further deepen and the cooperation will be further enhanced,” he said.

Asked about the possible joint marine protection in the area, he said China has always been in favor of cooperation with the Philippines and other countries in the protection of the ecosystem in the South China Sea. He noted that China even set aside a fund for maritime cooperation. (With reports from Yas D. Ocampo and Roy C. Mabasa)