Duterte slams critics as he invokes Philippine-US defence pact over South China Sea dispute
- Responding to accusations he has been too soft on China, the president called for the US to ‘gather their fleet’ in the disputed waterway
- Duterte insisted that the Philippines was still the ‘owner’ of the West Philippine Sea, as it is known in the country
“Now, I’m calling America, I am invoking the Philippine-US pact. I would like America to gather all their Seventh Fleet in front of China,” Duterte said in a television interview.
There was no immediate response from the US. On Thursday, Duterte’s spokesman Salvador Panelo said the leader was being sarcastic.
He said what he said, Panelo continued, to put “into absurdity the criticism by the critics and detractors – and challenging them that in the event of any armed attack and the treaty will be operational, then these critics and detractors ... should go with him in defending the West Philippine Sea.”
Manila and Washington’s 1951 Mutual Defence Treaty allows either parties to assist the other in the event of attacks on its metropolitan territory, island territories under its jurisdiction in the Pacific or on its armed forces, public vessels or aircraft in the Pacific.
The US has affirmed that the scope of coverage includes the South China Sea, while at the same time maintaining that it does not take sides in territorial disputes there.
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Duterte’s invocation of the Philippines-US accord came after officials from both nations wrapped up their two-day “strategic dialogue” on Tuesday, covering issues such as defence, security, development and global diplomatic engagement.
“Both sides recognised the importance of a strong Philippines-US alliance in enhancing security cooperation and promoting regional stability and security,” a joint statement issued after the meeting said.
“Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to uphold freedom of navigation, overflight and other lawful uses of the South China Sea, and stressed the importance of peacefully resolving disputes in accordance with international law, as reflected in the Law of the Sea Convention,” it added.
“If he is really serious, it would hurt not only the country’s diplomatic ties with China, but also the trade relations. I think he is just bluffing,” said Beleno, the head of the political science and history department at Ateneo de Davao University.
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In the television interview on Tuesday, Duterte insisted that while Beijing had permission to fish in the areas claimed by Manila in the resource-rich waterway, the Philippines was still the “owner” of the West Philippine Sea – as it is known in the country.
“As far as I’m concerned, I am the owner, and I’m just giving the fishing rights,” Duterte said.
“We filed a case for arbitration actually, and we won,” said Duterte, adding that despite the ruling, China continued claiming rights over the territory.
The president’s comments came after he last week said he would use the country’s State of the Nation Address on Monday to address the outrage over his claims that the Philippines could not bar China from the West Philippine Sea.
While Manila has seen an improvement of ties with Beijing as a result of Duterte’s conciliatory policies towards China since his election in 2016, territorial disputes remain a thorny issue between both sides.
China continues to reject a 2016 ruling of an international arbitration court that invalidates its historical basis in claiming almost the entire South China Sea, including the Scarborough Shoal, a traditional fishing ground that sits within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
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Anger has been building in the Philippines over Duterte’s unwillingness to get China to respect its territorial rights.
Last month, Filipinos expressed outrage after the Duterte administration downplayed an incident at the Reed Bank, where a Chinese fishing boat allegedly rammed a Philippine vessel and left the crew stranded in the waters, calling it an ordinary “collision”.
Meanwhile, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon expressed hope that “in the end, the international community will always be with us to see to it that the South China Sea will be a maritime area that will have freedom of navigation, overflight, and of course, undisturbed trade”.
“We may not be a very strong country militarily, but we can say we are able to hold on to our sovereignty and sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea,” Esperon said.
