(Eagle News)–President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday, Aug. 21, maintained he would raise the arbitral ruling that invalidated China’s nine-dash line during his trip to China even if some have told him not to do so.
“Sabi nila hindi pag-usapan, sabi ko no. If I’m not allowed as a President of a sovereign nation to talk whatever I want to talk about then let us rather not talk altogether. ‘Wag na,” the President said at the inauguration of the Tumingad Solar Power Project in Tablas Island, Romblon.
It was unclear, however, who was stopping him from raising the issue.
The President reiterated he would push for a peaceful resolution to the dispute, saying he could not afford to send soldiers in a war with China.
He reiterated he would also raise the 60-40 joint exploration in the disputed seas, hoping it “will be a good start.”
“I hope that it will graduate into something like how do we solve the arbitral ruling peacefully,” he said.
The President is slated to go to China from Aug. 28 to Sept. 2, during which he is also slated to watch the Gilas Pilipinas basketball game, Senator Bong Go, Duterte’s former aide, said.
This would have been Duterte’s fifth visit to China since he assumed the presidency in 2016.
