Vietnam ‘acknowledged’ PH as lead in sea dispute – Locsin

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has been standing up to China “in the things that matter,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said on Sunday.

“We stand up to China in the things that matter without fail and are acknowledged by Vietnam as the lead in the South China Sea disputes,” Locsin said in a tweet.

Yes but we stand up to China in the things that matter without fail and are acknowledged by Vietnam as the lead in the South China Sea disputes. On the other hand, the US sold us up the Yangtze River under Obama for Chinese business. https://t.co/qF9Gf5t6UJ

— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) December 8, 2019

Locsin was responding to a tweet comparing the impeachment case against United States President Donald Trump and the Philippines’ relationship with China.

“In the US impeachment case, you have knowledge (facts) on one side and Republicans on the other. Same in the PH for the drug war. And for the China relationship, come to think about it. The Duterte Admin employs trolls to muddy the waters of knowledge and thrives on doing dumb,” the netizen tweeted.

In the US impeachment case, you have knowledge (facts) on one side and Republicans on the other. Same in the PH for the drug war. And for the China relationship, come to think about it. The Duterte Admin employs trolls to muddy the waters of knowledge and thrives on doing dumb.

— JoeAm (@societyofhonor) December 7, 2019

The exchange happened merely days after the International Criminal Court (ICC) reportedly junked the communication made by former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales and former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario against China and President Xi Jinping for crimes against humanity allegedly committed in the disputed parts of the South China Sea.

The ICC cited lack of jurisdiction, explaining that China is not a state party to the Rome Statute — the treaty that established the Court.

The Philippines had a historic win in 2016 when the United Nations-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague favored the Philippines’ territorial claims, thus invalidating China’s claims to almost all of the West Philippine Sea.

During his five-day official visit in China in August, Duterte discussed with Xi the issues surrounding the West Philippine Sea — including the arbitral tribunal’s ruling and the drafting of the Code of Conduct (COC) to avoid further tensions in the disputed territory.

Xi underscored, however, China’s stand in rejecting the ruling that favored the Philippines but assured Duterte that China would avoid “provocative acts” in the area.

/atm