Sara Duterte Urges Good Relations With China in Hong Kong Remarks: Philippine Military Says Defending the West Philippine Sea Is Not Picking a Fight
Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte told a gathering of overseas Filipino workers in Hong Kong on November 8 that the Philippines should maintain good relations with China. Gesturing to compare the two countries' military strength, she said the government must weigh how big the other side's armed forces are, warned that a breakdown in relations would cost Filipinos working in mainland China and in Hong Kong and Macau their businesses and jobs, and argued for a team of diplomats and negotiators to handle the maritime dispute rather than confrontations at sea or exchanges on social media.
Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, the Armed Forces of the Philippines' spokesman for the West Philippine Sea, responded at a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City on November 10. He said the Philippines was not picking a fight with any country in the West Philippine Sea and that defending the country's sovereign rights and maritime entitlements was a separate matter, unrelated to relative military strength, adding that the military would continue to perform its mandate and citing the 2016 arbitral ruling. The Department of Foreign Affairs had also cautioned that public comments by officials should not undercut the government's diplomatic efforts.
Duterte made the remarks during a November 6-8 visit to Hong Kong for Filipino community events, a trip approved by the Senate impeachment court; her impeachment trial is under way in Manila.
(Source: BusinessMirror)
Source: BusinessMirror
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：菲律宾副总统萨拉·杜特尔特官方肖像。照片：菲律宾副总统办公室，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Official portrait of Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte. Photo by the Office of the Vice President of the Philippines, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
