Palace assures Philippines not giving up on sea claims

MALACAÑANG reiterated Monday that the Philippines is not giving up its claim of sovereignty over certain islands in the West Philippine Sea.

Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella guaranteed that while President Rodrigo Duterte aims warmer ties with China, his main goal is to preserve and protect the national interest benefitting the Filipino people.

"The first and last priority of President Duterte is the national interest and the wellbeing of the Filipino," Abella said in a statement.

Abella issued the remark amid calls for the Department of Foreign Affairs to file a diplomatic protest against China, after Chinese

President Xi Jinping warned of possible war if the Philippines proceed with its plan to drill oil in the contested waters.

The President revealed last week that he insisted to Xi that the Philippines has sovereign rights over the resource-rich South China Sea but the Chinese leader stressed that he might be forced to go to war with him, even if both countries now have softened relations.

Abella, thus, said that both countries agreed to pursue peaceful dialogue to resolve the maritime dispute.

He, however, assured that the Philippine government would uphold its rights over the South China Sea, as supported by the international arbitral court's ruling quashing China's claims to the contested waters.

"The Philippine and China are committed to peaceful resolutions to socio-economic, and political challenges. And the recently concluded meet on the bilateral consultation mechanism is one platform for confidence-building measures to address issues pertaining to the South China Sea," Duterte's spokesman said.

"We are very clear that we are not giving up our claim of sovereignty and sovereign rights over certain islands in the South China Sea. At the same time, these matters are pursued in the context of maintaining peace and prosperity in the region," he added.

Duterte visited China last week to participate in the Belt and Road Forum. He also had the chance to hold restrictive meeting with Xi, in a bid to mend ties with China amid overlapping claims in South China Sea. SunStar Philippines