President Rodrigo Duterte Duterte said he wanted to assert Philippine sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea since the day he assumed the presidency but added it would mean “great loss” for the Philippines.
“I would have taken a stronger [and more] violent way of doing it and I said in my own estimation, it would be a great loss to the nation and probably end up losing a war,” he said during the 120th Philippine Navy Anniversary in Manila on Tuesday.
The President explained his “desire to defend but at the same time not to make any move that will be destructive to the nation” in dealing with our maritime dispute with China.
“I really want to do something to assert [our sovereignty over the West Philippine Sea],”he said, citing that he could not afford to go to war with China.
He said he could “not rely on just one nation and country to defend us and maybe help us.”
“Whether you accept it or not, that is the reality on the ground,” he said.
Since he assumed office in 2016, Duterte has taken a soft approach against China in dealing with the country’s dispute over the West Philippine Sea. /je