Duterte: Search for oil fueling China’s activities in West Philippine Sea

DAVAO CITY – President Rodrigo Duterte said on Saturday that the search for oil to fuel its industrialization was the reason behind China’s activities in the West Philippine Sea.

“China, for all of its, whatever, posturing there is, is also interested in oil,” the President said in a speech during the Eid’l Fitr celebration attended by some 650 Moro leaders, officials and representatives of various groups here.

He said all of China’s activities there were because of oil “because it fuels industrialization.”

Duterte said oil was so important that even Western countries want to dominate other oil producing countries such as those in the Middle East.

“[Everything depends on] oil. Vehicles produced even by the primitive lathe machines that is a product of an equipment or machine using oil. If there is no oil, we won’t have electricity,” he said. “So it’s the resources. Eventually, it’s geopolitics.”