It is never too late for the government to assert the United Nations (UN) ruling on the South China Sea, Malacañang said Monday, following reports that China is ramping up its militarization in the disputed waters.
Duterte has repeatedly said it was not yet the “appropriate time” to raise the sea ruling against China as Manila sought warmer ties with Beijing, whose relationship was strained over the Hague ruling in 2016.
“We will have to leave it to the President’s judgment on when and where the perfect time would be made. He has six years in which he has to do it,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a Palace briefing.
Duterte’s possible raising of the sea ruling was asked less than a month before Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Manila by the end of November.
Panelo said raising the sea ruling on the South China against Beijing would never be “too late,” saying “the arbitration award will be there forever.”
“I don’t think so. It can never be too late when you protest on a particular thing, especially if the award is yours,” he said, responding to a question that it might be too late when the President decides to raise the ruling.
“There will be a time for all of that,” he added. /je