Lorenzana denies Duterte defeatist over West Philippine Sea issue

Defense chief Delfin Lorenzana on Monday said President Rodrigo Duterte was not a being a defeatist when it came to dealing with territorial issues in the West Philippine Sea.

"When he said that inutile, I don't think that... I believe he is not being defeatist. He is just being pragmatic and realistic... There are so many countries who are getting involved here in South China Sea, but they have different interests than the Philippines," Lorenzana said at a virtual press briefing.

"Their main concern is freedom of navigation. We support that because it also coincides with our wish that the freedom of navigation continues in the South China Sea, But if we study further, we have other issues in the South China Sea like how are we going to exercise our sovereign rights to exploit the resources in the South China Sea. Mukhang di makikialam ang ibang bansa, it's only between us and China," he added.

Lorenzana said the President's plan was to sit down with China and resolve the territorial issue, adding that the Asian Superpower was "amenable to sitting down."

Lorenzana also emphasized that Duterte was not setting aside the Philippines' substantial territorial rights over the area.

"In fact, there have been ongoing talks already about sharing our resources, extraction of the resources... the President never set aside permanently the arbitral court ruling... Sabi lang niya kay President Xi, before my term ends, I will invoke it so nandiyan pa rin, di makakalimutan diyan," he said.

"'Yung China naman, they keep saying that they will not honor the ruling but they will also remind us that they ignore the ruling, ibig sabihin deep within their mind ay nandiyan 'yung ruling at hindi rin nila puwedeng isantabi ng ganon ganon na lang, kasi binabanggit nila eh... The mere fact that they are mentioning it means that there is some understanding na nandiyan, it exists in favor of the Philippines," he explained.

In his 5th State of the Nation Address, Duterte said he was inutile and there was nothing he could do about the territorial issues in the resource-rich region.

The President again reiterated the Philippines could not afford to wage war against China over the matter.

"Talagang inutil ako dyan, walang magawa. I cannot... the moment I send my Marines there to the coastal shores of Palawan, tinamaan ng cruise missile lahat yan, hindi pa nga naka-set sail 'yan eh, sabog na," Duterte had said.

China claims a huge portion of the West Philippine Sea as part of its territory. However, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague invalidated this claim on July 12, 2016.

Beijing has refused to recognize the ruling. — DVM, GMA News