VICE President Sara Duterte on Sunday criticized the Marcos administration for its handling of the West Philippine Sea issue, saying it should not side with the United States and remain neutral while seeking recognition and implementation of the country’s 2016 arbitral victory over China before the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA).
While she has been consistent in assailing the administration’s foreign policy and keeping mum on China’s worsening aggression in Philippine territorial waters, it was the first time that the Vice President called on the government to use the country’s arbitral win.
“‘Yung problema natin sa West Philippine Sea does not make up our entire relation with China (Our problem in the West Philippine Sea does not make up our entire relation with China) and so therefore there is no reason for you to lean towards the US. You have to always stay in the middle because you are not part of the bigger conflict,” she told Filipino supporters who gathered at the Parliament Gardens in Melbourne, Australia.
The Vice President attended the “Free Duterte Now” gathering where she asked her supporters to call for the immediate release of her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, who is detained in the Netherlands, where he is being tried by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity.
Despite China’s incursions, the country’s second-highest elected official said the Philippines should be “friends” with both the United States and China instead of siding with only one ally.
“So, I do not understand why our independent foreign policy is lost in the discussions. Dapat ‘yan kaibigan mo lahat. Huwag kang kumampi (You should be friends with all). Do not choose sides),” she said.
The Vice President, whose father is perceived by critics as a lackey of the Chinese government, said the only thing that the government needs to do “is force the recognition and the implementation of the award through diplomatic channels.”
“Hindi yong kikilingan mo ang isang foreign power, papasukin mo ang missile ng foreign power sa bansa mo na alam mo kinaiinisan noong kalaban niya, nawala ka naman kinalaman sa gitgitan nilang dalawa (You should not be picking the side of one foreign power, letting the missile from that foreign power into your own country when you know that it irks that country’s enemy country when you don’t have anything to do with their differences),” she said, referring to the Typhon missile launchers that the United States has positioned in the country.
NOT RELIABLE PARTNER
The country’s experience with China during the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte in relation to the West Philippine Sea (WPS) proves that Beijing may not be a reliable partner.
Commodore Jay Tarriela, the Philippine Coast Guard’s (PCG) spokesman for the WPS, made the remarks on X (formerly Twitter) yesterday as he downplayed Vice President Sara Duterte’s statement on how the Philippine-China relations should proceed.
During a rally in Australia last Sunday, the VP said the Philippines’ entire relations with China should not be defined by the WPS dispute.
She also said the Philippines should not take the side of either the United States or China.
She criticized the administration’s decision to host US missile systems, knowing that this would earn the ire of China.
The VP was in Australia to attend the “Free Duterte Now” rally for his father, former President Duterte, who was arrested and currently detained in the Netherlands, facing charges of crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Court.
“While I acknowledge that the Philippines’ relationship with China is not solely defined by the situation in the West Philippine Sea, I do not subscribe to the argument that this stance automatically aligns us with the United States,” said Tarriela.
“President Marcos has already countered such a narrative, emphasizing that our decision to assert our maritime rights stems from our own strategic interests, not from pressure or influence exerted by other states,” added Tarriela.
Tarriela noted the previous administration’s foreign policy of being a “friend to all, enemy to none.”
He noted that the former president visited China five times and never went to the US during his six-year term.
“He (former President Duterte) openly expressed admiration for China and President Xi Jinping. Yet, despite this seemingly cordial relationship, Filipino fishermen continued to face harassment, our marine resources were subjected to exploitative practices, and our public vessels were harassed and intimidated,” said Tarriela.
“Was this experience not sufficient to demonstrate that China may not be a trustworthy partner, as highlighted by Secretary Teodoro’s reference to a significant trust deficit?” added Tarriela.
Tarriela was referring to Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., who said last month, during the Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore, that China has a “deficit of trust” amid the continuing efforts to come up with an ASEAN-China Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.
Teodoro cited the structures put up by China at Mischief Reef in 1995. The defense chief said the reef is now an artificial island and “heavily militarized.”
Teodoro also noted China’s declarations that it has “peaceful intentions,” but it continues to deny the Philippines its “rightful provenance under international law and UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea).”
Tarriela said advocating closer ties with China, at the expense of the US, “suggests either a lack of strategic insight into our national security imperatives or a predisposition toward Beijing.”
“Furthermore, who is actually asserting that we intend to use missiles for offensive purposes?” said Tarriela.
Defense and military officials had earlier said that the Typhoon and NMESIS (Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System) were in the country for training and defense purposes only.
