Locsin says he wants China vessels out of Pag-asa

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Tuesday said Chinese vessels should be out of the vicinity of Pag-asa Island to avoid any confrontation.

"Yes," Locsin told CNN Philippines when asked if he wants Chinese vessels out of the vicinity of Pag-asa. "It's up to them to take the risk, we have military personnel there."

He then said that one of the causes for triggering the Mutual Defense Treaty is an attack on any military vessel of the Philippines.

“What if they make a mistake? That triggers it,” he said.

In March, US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said the United States would come to the Philippines' aid if it comes under attack in the disputed South China Sea. 

Locsin, meanwhile, said the Philippines and China should not fight over a reef.

“Why do you want to fight over a reef. I told the Chinese, ‘you know that reef, that is worthless for any purpose, including military," he said.

Locsin said it is better for the two countries to be allies and cooperate with each other.

“Why would we give that up for a pebble in the ocean? You know what is the problem with that pebble? It’s in the middle of the wide highway of cooperation. It’s just there but if you stumble on it, everything else. You know why?  National honor is inside that pebble,” he said.

The DFA chief also said that he never shelved the ruling of the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration that favored the Philippines' case against China.

“I never shelved it and I’m in the UN. That’s the forum, from the Hague, you move to the UN,  and I never shelved it,” he said, referring to his former post as the country’s permanent representative to the United Nations. —Amita Legaspi/KBK, GMA News