Duterte to discuss West Philippine Sea dispute ‘lengthily’ at Asean Summit

SAFE AND SOUND Twelve of the 22 rescued fishermen from the ill-fated FB Gim-Ver 1 are ferried to the Port of Caminawit in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro, aboard a Philippine Navy inflatable boat from the patrol vessel BRP Ramon Alcaraz to be with their families. —PHILIPPINE NAVY PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte said Friday he will discuss “lengthily” the West Philippine Sea dispute during the 34th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit in Bangkok, Thailand.

Duterte will fly to Thailand Friday evening for the three-day summit.

Speaking at the oath-taking of his children, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio and Vice Mayor Sebastian Duterte, the President questioned China’s so-called “nine-dash line claim” at the West Philippine Sea.

Duterte was referring to Beijing’s expansive claim that encircles as much as 90 percent of the ­contested waters, which was invalidated by a 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague and recognized the Philippines’ sovereign rights in areas within its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.

READ: PH wins arbitration case over South China Sea

“Ang tanong ko lang sa China you know, we’re friends. Ang problema, China drew a line…dikit talaga sa mga coastline ng mga Vietnamese, Malaysia, Brunei. Ang sabi ko is it correct for China to declare ownership of an ocean,” Duterte said.

“I will talk lengthily about it dito sa Asean (Summit),” he added.

Duterte issued the statement nearly two weeks after the ramming of a Filipino fishing vessel at the West Philippine Sea.

At midnight on June 9, a Chinese vessel from Guangdong province struck the stern of moored fishing boat Gem-Vir 1, which was anchored at Reed Bank, a shallow seamount within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

The Gem-Vir sank but the Chinese boat, instead of rescuing the 22 Filipino fishermen men, sailed on. A Vietnamese fishing boat later rescued the crew out of the open sea.

Duterte has played down the boat’s sinking as a “little maritime incident”.

READ: Duterte breaks silence on sinking of PH boat: ‘It’s a little maritime accident’

In a recent Palace briefing, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Junever Mahilum-West said there could be an “opening” for the President to raise the Recto Bank incident, which he recently downplayed as a “little maritime accident.”

However, Mahilum-West noted that the three-day summit is not the “best venue” to bring up the issue.

READ: Asean meet not best venue for Duterte to raise boat sinking issue – DFA exec