‘China’s not to be trusted’: Philippines’ Rosario wades into row over South China Sea sinking

The Philippines’ former top diplomat has waded into the row over the sinking of the FB Gimver 1 in the South China Sea, saying that “China is not to be trusted”.

In an outburst likely to dismay Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who has been at pains to draw a line under the incident, Albert del Rosario, the former foreign secretary, on Thursday urged Philippine officials to take a tougher stance with Beijing over the sinking – claiming he had “first hand experience” that China’s word was “unreliable”.

Del Rosario’s intervention is particularly awkward for Duterte as it comes ahead of this weekend’s Asean summit in Bangkok, which the president is to attend and where the incident is likely to be discussed.

Twenty-two Filipino crew members had to be rescued by Vietnamese fishermen when their boat sank near Recto Bank – also known as Reed Bank – last week after a collision with a Chinese vessel. The collision prompted uproar in the Philippines, where protesters on Tuesday burned 22 Chinese flags to symbolise the crew members.

But both Duterte and Chinese officials have sought to play the affair down, with the Philippine leader saying it was “just a collision”.