Brash Philippine leader announce last week a plan to raise Philippine flag on island of Thitu and fortify it with barracks
Philippines’ President Rodrigo Duterte has cancelled a planned visit to an island the Philippines claims in the disputed South China Sea, after Beijing warned him against the visit.
The brash Philippine leader last week announced his plan to raise the Philippine flag in the island of Thitu and fortify it with barracks, setting off alarm bells.
“Because of our friendship with China and because we value your friendship I will not go there to raise the Philippine flag, ” Duterte said in a speech before the Filipino community in Riyadh late Wednesday.
“They said, do not go there in the meantime, just do not go there please. I will correct myself because we value our friendship with China, ” he said, adding that he might just send his son to the island.
China claims most of the South China Sea through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes annually.
