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Duterte reiterates: Insisting on our claims vs. China means trouble


President Rodrigo Duterte reiterated on Saturday that insisting on our claims against China in the West Philippine Sea  means trouble that our country cannot afford.

But in his speech at the ceremonial opening of the Alegia, Cebu oilfield, Duterte said that he is doing something about the maritime dispute, and asked Cebuanos not to believe in claims that he is doing nothing about it. 

"You know,  if you insist on what you want with the Chinese, especially with new friends, there will be trouble," Duterte said.

He said he told President Xi  Jinping during their meeting in China that the Philippines will go to the West Philippine Sea and dig oil there. 

But according to Duterte,  Xi's response was: "We have just become friends and we have just begun to get to know each other. Let’s not ruin the relationship that we have."

"You know how Chinese talk when they say [that]… Alam mo, ‘pag pinilit mo, there will be trouble," said Duterte adding, "what will we arm ourselves with if there is war?"

"That is why when (Senator Antonio) Trillanes and the opposition said that we insist on the issue ... why would I give away the lives of my soldiers and policemen in a battle which I cannot win?" 

Those in the opposition have been urging Duterte to protest against China, using an international  arbitral tribunal's award invalidating Beijing's excessive claims in the South China Sea.

Duterte, however, said that when he became president, China has always been    conciliatory. "A lot of projects have already started to come in." —LBG, GMA News

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