China Will Still Like the Philippines Despite Reported War ThreatMay 29, 2017
Ralph Jenning
FILE - Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte gestures while addressing the media following the conclusion of the 30th ASEAN Leaders' Summit in Manila, Philippines.
TAIPEI — China will keep working toward a stronger friendship with the Philippines, which it sees as a valuable new ally in Southeast Asia, despite the Philippine president’s comment that Beijing’s top leader once threatened war over a disputed tract of sea, analysts say.
Duterte told a Philippine coast guard unit on May 19 that Chinese President Xi Jinping this month had threatened “war†if the Philippines “forced the issue†over sovereignty of the Spratly Islands, an archipelago of tiny features in the South China Sea, according to widespread media reports in the Philippines.
“They cannot say anything either way, because it would look bad for them,†said Jay Batongbacal, director of the Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea at the University of the Philippines in Metro Manila. “So I think it’s difficult for them and probably (they) won’t say anything and just avoid it altogether.â€
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