Duterte says he will not press China on Arbitral Tribunal ruling

President Rodrigo Duterte said during a Saturday morning news conference in Davao City that he would not press China on the Arbitral Tribunal's ruling on the South China Sea, despite China's alleged placement of weapon systems on the Johnson Reef.

 

"In the play of politics now, I will set aside the arbitral ruling," said Duterte.

 

"I will not impose anything on China. Why? Because the politics here in Southeast Asia is changing. Like us now, I will separate or I will demand that [US forces] go out of my country," he added.

 

"What's the use of hosting here if you think we are a bunch of criminals [because of the alleged extra-judicial killings]," Duterte said.

 

Also, despite the upcoming change of government in the United States because of the election of Donald Trump and his perception of Trump as a"bird of a feather", Duterte still planned to terminate the Visiting Forces Agreement.

 

"I do not want to see foreign military troops... I do not want them in my country," he explained. — DVM, GMA News