(Eagle News)–President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday, July 17, called on the United States to deploy its fleet to the South China Sea, in an apparent mock of his critics over his handling of the dispute with China.
In a television interview, Duterte urged the US to send the US Navy’s 7th Fleet, based in Yokosuka, Japan to the disputed area, invoking the Mutual Defense Treaty signed by the Philippines and the US in 1951.
Under the treaty, any act of aggression on one of the two countries is considered an act of aggression on the other, who is then obliged to help.
“I will ride on the boat where the admiral of the US [is]. But I will drag along Carpio and the rest,” Duterte said, referring to Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, who has been a vocal critic of Duterte’s policy in the South China Sea.
According to Duterte, “maybe that would be the end of Palawan.”
“Palawan may be devastated, may be occupied or if there will be nuclear bombs then we will dry up. So nothing will grow here, we can just wait,” Duterte said.
Earlier, the Palace rejected Senator Panfilo Lacson’s proposal to invoke the treaty, following the ramming of a Chinese boat of a Philippine fishing boat near Recto Bank.
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said it was, after all, still unclear whether the ramming was indeed an act of aggression on the part of the Chinese.