Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday said he trusted China would not build anything on a disputed South China Sea shoal because he was given its
MANILA: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday said he trusted China would not build anything on a disputed South China Sea shoal because he was given its “word of honour” and Beijing would not want to jeopardise a new friendship.
Duterte was commenting amid a furore in the Philippines stemming from remarks last week by the mayor in charge of China-controlled disputed islands and reefs, who said preparatory work was being planned to build several monitoring stations, including on the Scarborough Shoal.
“I was informed that they are not going to do anything at Panatag out of respect for our friendship,” he told a news conference in the early hours of Thursday, referring to the shoal by its local name.
“‘We will build nothing there’ – that was the assurance given by the Chinese government.
“They are not going to build anything … because they do not want to jeopardise our friendship”.
He said China “has a word of honour”. He did not specify when he received this assurance.
Duterte caused a stir on Sunday when he said “we cannot stop China”, when asked about the possibility of it putting radar at the shoal.
