Duterte to US envoy: Why didn’t you send ships to stop China reclamation?

President Rodrigo Duterte. BING GONZALES

President Rodrigo Duterte revealed Wednesday that he confronted United States Ambassador Sung Kim over the inaction of US when China started reclamation activities over the disputed South China Sea years back.

Duterte and Kim met on Monday at the presidential guest house in Davao City.

The President told the US envoy that he was “surprised” and said that “had America really wanted to avoid trouble early on,” it should have sent its navy ships to the disputed territory where China was building man-made structures.

“Why did you not send the Armada and the seventh fleet which is stationed in the Pacific to just make a U-turn and go there and tell them right on their face stop it?” Duterte said in a speech in Socorro, Mindoro Oriental. “Because there is another set of law that says you cannot make man-made structure on the high seas.”

Duterte said Kim replied saying he was not the US ambassador to the Philippines during that time and it was not his assignment. Kim was previously the US ambassador to South Korea.

Depsite his dismay over inaction of US in the South China Sea, Duterte said the Philippines remains a friend of US as he assured that the country would not enter into another military alliance as a respect to our treaty with our longtime ally.

‘We have not abandoned our claim’

Duterte told China that the Philippines would never abandon its claim over the disputed South China Sea.

“We have not abandoned our claim,” he said.

The President said he won’t raise the arbitral ruling for now but assured Filipinos he would present it to China during his term.

He recalled telling Chinese President Xi Jinping during his state visit to China in October 2016 that he would assert the United Nation arbitral ruling during his term.

“As a matter of fact, I don’t want to mention it in your presence but sabi ko at any time during my term, we’ll have to talk about the arbitration of the China Sea and when the time comes, I will present to you the judgement,” he said.

Despite the maritime dispute, the President said the Chinese were “good” and “faithful friends.”

“We are at our best level of friendship with China after I went there,” he said. JE

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