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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said challenging China in the South China Sea will only lead to violence and will only do so if Beijing is engaged in obtaining oil from the disputed waters.
“If we are going to assert our jurisdiction, it will be bloody,” Duterte said in a television session Monday afternoon, his first statements later hundreds of Chinese ships were seen on a reef disputed in March.
Duterte said he will only send Navy ships into controversial waters if China starts drilling oil. “If they get the oil, it would be time for us to act on it,” he said.
Philippine defense chief Delfin Lorenzana told Duterte during the meeting that Navy ships can patrol the country’s exclusive economic zone, after the president said “nothing will happen” if the nation sends its ships. ” because we are not in possession of the sea. “
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Tensions between the two nations have intensified in recent weeks. Manila has repeated it he protested the presence of Beijing and has done so deployed more ships to the disputed areas, although Duterte maintains a friendly stance, thanking China for supplying coronavirus vaccines. China has said that the presence of its ships in the South China Sea is normal and legitimate.
The US has done that expressed concerns about China’s “maritime militia” in the area, supporting the Philippines, a longtime military ally. Duterte said Monday that the U.S. will not come to the aid of the Philippines if the conflict “is its own.”
Philippine business groups are calling on China to withdraw ships from the reef
The Philippine leader said he is not “so interested” in the marine resources in the South China Sea. “I will give them five Coast Guard boats, which they can pursue. They can play with each other and see who is faster, ”he said.
Last year, the Southeast Asian nation lifted a ban on oil exploration in the South China Sea, paving the way advancing talks with China, though nations have yet to navigate their overlapping demands in the area.
(Updates with more Duterte comments from the third paragraph)