President Rodrigo Duterte is ready to declare war against China if the latter will exploit resources in the West Philippine Sea.
During the weekly flag-raising ceremony at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), foreign affairs secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said Duterte is ready to defend the Philippines’ sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea.
“The President has said that. If anyone gets the natural resources in the West Philippine Sea, he will go to war,” Cayetano said in his speech.
“He said, ‘Bahala na.’ [But] he will go to war,” Cayetano added.
Cayetano’s statement, however, contradicted Duterte’s earlier comments when he said he seeks to maintain close friendship with China and settle maritime issues in a diplomatic way rather than declare war.
“This is not the time to be fighting over the South China Sea because it will only lead to war,” Duterte said in a speech in Davao City on February 10.
Meanwhile, Cayetano explained that Duterte had previously expressed intention to go to war if China breaks the “red lines” the Duterte administration had set regarding the territorial dispute.
The first red line, Cayetano said, was for China not to build structures on the Panatag Shoal, more commonly known as Scarborough Shoal.
The territory has been the subject of a two-month standoff between Chinese and Philippine ships in 2012 which brought the Philippines to challenge the former’s claim to the South China Sea.
The second red line was for China not to remove the BRP Sierra Madre vessel from Ayungin Shoal which marks Philippine territory in the Spratlys.
Cayetano said Filipino soldiers should not be harassed when delivering supplies to the Philippine ship stationed near the shoal.
Another red line is that no one should get natural resources from the disputed territories on their own, referring to the President’s previous remark regarding the joint exploration for oil and natural gas with China in the West Philippine Sea. This remark was also met with criticism since many believe the Philippines should have exclusive rights to the islands.
The West Philippine Sea is considered as the waters and lands within the country’s 370-kilometer exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea.
