Duterte-Xi deal on China fishing in Philippine waters ‘not enforceable’: foreign secretary Locsin

The Philippine president claimed last month he could not go back on a verbal deal he made with the Chinese leader in 2016

But his comments appear to have been contradicted by his own foreign secretary, Teodoro Locsin Jnr

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Demonstrators in Manila hold an anti-China protest after a collision between a Philippine and Chinese vessel in the South China Sea. Photo: AP

Published: 7:00pm, 3 Jul 2019Updated: 3:14pm, 13 Dec 2019

Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jnr said on Wednesday a verbal agreement between President Rodrigo Duterte and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping allowing China to fish in Philippine waters was not being implemented and “cannot be enforced”.

That claim, made to a morning news programme, appeared to contradict Duterte, who said last month that he could not go back on the deal he had agreed in 2016.

Duterte’s comments last month were the first time the “deal” had been mentioned in public and he was immediately attacked by critics who say the agreement violates the constitution. Beijing has not commented.

The Philippines’ foreign secretary and cabinet member Teodoro Locsin Jnr Photo: Bloomberg

On Monday, presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said the deal was enforceable. Speaking in Tagalog, he told reporters: “I think there was nothing signed. They just talked. With heads of state, their word of honour [is enough], there’s no need [for anything written].”

“In law,” he said, “even if it’s just verbal, an agreement is binding as long as it has the mutual consent of both parties. That is why it’s called an agreement.”