Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano on Monday sought to play down President Duterte’s claim that Chinese President Xi Jinping had told him that China would go to war with the Philippines if Manila insisted on drilling for oil in the West Philippine Sea, saying the two were not threatening…
Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano on Monday sought to play down President Duterte’s claim that Chinese President Xi Jinping had told him that China would go to war with the Philippines if Manila insisted on drilling for oil in the West Philippine Sea, saying the two were not threatening each other but talking about preventing conflict.
Speaking to reporters before leaving for Russia with Mr. Duterte, Cayetano said talks last week between the two leaders in Beijing were frank and friendly, with no threats or bullying.
He said there was no need for the government to file a diplomatic protest against China or take Beijing to the United Nations, as suggested by some senators and Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio.
He said he planned to brief the senators and Carpio on the discussion between Mr. Duterte and Xi after he returned from Moscow.
A self-styled socialist, Mr. Duterte left with a large delegation on Monday for a five-day visit to Russia, a socialist-turned-capitalist country.
The outspoken Mr. Duterte said during a televised speech at a Philippine Coast Guard event in Davao City on Friday that Xi had warned him that there would be war if he tried to explore for oil in the West Philippine Sea, waters within Manila’s 370-kilometer exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea.
Mr. Duterte did not name a drill site, but it was understood that he was referring to Recto Bank, a reef internationally known as Reed Bank, 153 km off Palawan, that the UN-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague last year ruled was within the Philippine EEZ and could be explored by Manila for resources.
Mr. Duterte said he discussed the ruling with Xi when they met in Beijing on Monday, and got a firm but friendly warning.
“We intend to drill oil there. If it’s yours, well, that’s your view. But my view is, I can drill the oil, if there is some inside the bowels of the earth, because it is ours, ” Mr. Duterte said, recalling his conversation with Xi.
“His response to me was, ‘We’ re friends, we don’ t want to quarrel with you. We want to maintain the presence of warm relationship, but if you force the issue, we’ ll go to war, ” Mr.
