Duterte sticks to pivot to China

Nearly a year after President Rodrigo Duterte said that he would pursue an independent foreign policy, his commitment was tested by three major maritime incidents involving close ally China.

These were the blockade of Sandy Cay by Chinese maritime militia, the poaching of clams in the Scarborough Shoal, and the sinking of the Filipino fishing vessel in Reed Bank.

The President visited Beijing three times in the past three years, including a recent trip in April, and secured Chinese loans to fund infrastructure projects.

“Our improved relationship with China, however, does not mean that we will waver in our commitment to defend our interests in the West Philippine Sea,” he said in his 2018 State of the Nation Address (SONA).

But on Tuesday, just a few days before he is set to deliver his 2019 SONA, Duterte said he has given China “fishing rights” to the country’s exclusive economic zone.

Stand up vs. China bullying

Critics said Duterte has failed to stand up to the “bullying” in  the West Philippine Sea, but the president said provoking China into war is out of the question.

GMA resident analyst Richard Heydarian said the president weakened the country’s negotiating position by setting aside the arbitration award, which allowed China to continue its reclamation and militarization activities in disputed waters.

“There's no evidence whatsoever that the President's rapprochement with China is working,” Heydarian said. “But he's stubbornly sticking  to his script and this is a huge strategic blunder.”

Duterte preferred to work within the framework of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-China Dialogue Relations, which is drafting a Code of Conduct on the South China Sea as an instrument to peacefully resolve maritime conflicts in the region.

The President, however, expressed his disappointment over the slow progress of the negotiations for the sea code in the ASEAN Summit in Bangkok last month.  —LDF, GMA News