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Duterte ‘not in a hurry’ to solve sea row with China


President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday said that he is in no hurry to solve the Philippines' maritime dispute with China.

At the High Level Forum on ASEAN@50, Duterte said that the sea row was one of the serious problems being faced by Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

“The South China Sea is one but we are not in a hurry. And as a matter of fact, what we did was really the correct step and to avoid confrontational talks with almost all of the parties concerned, just ask for a limited time to solve the problem and sharing of the resources if it could be done,” he said of the international waters.

In July 2016, just a few days after Duterte took office, the Philippines won a landmark ruling against China's claims over almost the entire South China Sea at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.

Duterte pointed out that though China stands by its nine-dash claim over the South China Sea, there should be no need to go to war.

“China has stood pat on its decision. We need not go to war for that. It is not good to add something that is already a very high tension existing in Asia itself,” he said.

Aside from the Philippines, ASEAN members Malaysia, Vietnam, and Brunei have maritime claims over the South China Sea. — BM, GMA News

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