(Eagle News)–President Rodrigo Duterte expressed disappointment over the delay in the negotiations for a Code of Conduct on the South China Sea.
According to Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo, this was done by Duterte on Sunday’s 34th Association of Southeast Asian Summit Retreat.
Panelo said Duterte explained that a long delay in a COC meant a higher probability a maritime incident would occur, which means the greater the chances are for miscalculations that could go out of control.
Panelo said Duterte’s statements “underscored the fact that the President Duterte is not beholden to or afraid of any foreign country.”
Earlier, the Philippines filed a diplomatic protest against China after a Chinese vessel struck a Philippine fishing boat and abandoned it to sink near the Recto Bank incident.
