‘Ball is in Beijing’s court’ on South China Sea after Rodrigo Duterte puts focus on international law
- Philippine president raised contentious 2016 tribunal ruling with his Chinese counterpart in Beijing, but Xi Jinping said he would not accept it
- Observers say historically prickly issues are unlikely to get in the way of closer ties between the two nations
Duterte raised the contentious issue with Xi during a five-day visit to Beijing, as he faces mounting domestic pressure to take a tougher stand on China after a collision that sank a Filipino fishing vessel near the disputed Spratly Islands in June.
The two sides did agree to set up a steering group committee on joint exploration for oil and gas – which one analyst said was the best possible outcome given heightened tensions in the South China Sea – and inked cooperation agreements, including on higher education, science and technology, and a Chinese loan for a Philippine railway project.
As planned, Duterte raised the 2016 international tribunal ruling in favour of the Philippines, which undermined sweeping claims from Beijing to most of the South China Sea. But Xi said he would not accept the ruling, with the leaders agreeing to not let their conflicting positions get in the way of relations between the countries, Philippine presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo told reporters.
The strongman leader’s fifth visit to China in less than three years reflects his administration’s continued pivot to Beijing, which domestic critics have said comes at the cost of Manila’s sovereignty in the South China Sea. But observers said the historically prickly issues were not likely to get in the way of closer ties, even if Duterte shifted the focus to international law.