Duterte bars Philippine troops from participating in South China Sea naval drills —Lorenzana

President Rodrigo Duterte has prohibited Philippine forces from joining other countries in conducting naval exercises in the South China Sea, according to Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.

At a virtual press briefing on Monday, Lorenzana said Duterte's directive aims to prevent the escalation of tension in the region.

"President Duterte has a standing order to us, to me that we should not involve ourselves in naval exercises in the South China Sea except our national waters, the 12-mile distance from our shores," Lorenzana said.

"We cannot exercise with them in the South China Sea... definitely if one country's action is considered as belligerent by another, tension will normally rise so I hope that all the parties in this exercise will work on their actions there, to exercise prudence and carefulness so that there will be no miscalculations that could further increase the tension," he explained.

Duterte’s spokesperson Harry Roque said the decision was in line with the government’s independent foreign policy.

“Dati na pong polisiya ng Presidente ‘yan. Sa kanyang independyenteng panlabas na relasyon, kaibigan natin ang lahat, wala tayong kaaway,” Roque said in a televised briefing on Tuesday.

“Ang sabi lang ng Presidente, kung ang ilang mga gawain ng mga superpowers ngayon ay magre-resulta sa mas matinding tensyon [ay] iwas tayo sa mga ganyang hakbang.”

Duterte’s spokesperson Harry Roque said the decision was in line with the government’s independent foreign policy.

“Dati na pong polisiya ng Presidente ‘yan. Sa kanyang independyenteng panlabas na relasyon, kaibigan natin ang lahat, wala tayong kaaway,” Roque said in a televised briefing on Tuesday.

“Ang sabi lang ng Presidente, kung ang ilang mga gawain ng mga superpowers ngayon ay magre-resulta sa mas matinding tensyon [ay] iwas tayo sa mga ganyang hakbang.”

Lorenzana also said Duterte is not being a defeatist but just being "pragmatic and realistic" when it comes to how he deals with the territorial issues in the South China Sea. For the Defense chief, Duterte is just being pragmatic and realistic.

He further noted that Duterte is not setting aside the Philippines' substantial territorial rights over the area.

In his 5th State of the Nation Address, Duterte — long criticized for his administration's rather soft stand on the territorial dispute — said the Philippines could not afford to wage war against China over West Philippine Sea. —with Virgil Lopez/KBK, GMA News