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Retired officers to Duterte: Retract remarks that go against nat'l interest


President Rodrigo Duterte should withdraw his statements on the West Philippine Sea issue which do not conform with the national interest, a group of former police and military officers said Tuesday.

Retired Lieutenant General Edilberto Adan, head of the Advocates for National Interest, said their group called on the President to "have a firm stand" in defending Philippines sovereignty in its territorial waters.

"We would like to appeal to the President, together with the many other groups, various alumni groups requesting the President to retract some of his statements which do not conform with our national interest," Adan said in an ANC interview.

Adan also contradicted Duterte's statements that going to war with China was the "only option" to assert the Philippines' claims in the disputed waters.

"And what we’re saying is war is not the only option, there are other instruments of national power that can be used," he said.

The retired soldier also warned that Duterte's remarks on undermining the 2016 arbitral victory could "bolster China's excessive claims" even as China continues to violate Philippine sovereign rights.

"You know there is no legal basis for China’s excessive claims. And their debunking our claim, the Philippines' claim to our EEZ (exclusive economic zone), our sovereign rights, is already a violation," said Adan.

"I do not know what the President meant by that and the implications it will have because that will bolster China’s claim that it is in control, it will move towards its economic activities, exploration and that will be definitely against the national interest of the Philippines," he also pointed out.

A group of San Beda graduates also urged Duterte to make a clear stand on China's incursions in the West Philippine Sea, adding that the 76-year-old leader must retract his defeatist statements on continued illegal activities of China within the country's territorial waters.

Retired Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio also started a signature campaign requesting Duterte to retract his statements on the West Philippine Sea issue which could adversely affect the country's interests.

In a  briefing on Monday night, Duterte branded the 2016 arbitral ruling, which invalidated China's nine-dash claim, as "meaningless." He also thumbed down suggestions to head to the United Nations to defend the country's sovereignty.

Speak as one

Meanwhile, Adan also warned that Duterte's contradictory statements on the contested waters could weaken the Philippines' claims in the West Philippine Sea.

"Well as our legal luminaries have said, if we do not make a firm stand, and since the President’s words carry the weight of foreign policy, it weakens the Philippines' claim. It weakens the Philippines' position if we contradict ourselves. We must not allow that," Adan said.

In addition, Adan and his fellow retired police and military officials "strongly disagree" with Duterte's pronouncements such as downplaying the arbitral ruling as nothing more than a scrap of paper, as well as tagging the West Philippine Sea as "possessed by China."

"So what we’re saying is, why don’t we speak as one and say that it is china here that is the aggressor. It has violated international law and therefore we must stand for our rights, we must stand, our people should not argue on behalf of the China version," he said. — DVM, GMA News

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