MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Tuesday said it sees no tension between the Philippines and China in the West Philippine Sea despite recent protests filed by the country over the swarming of Chinese vessels in the disputed waters.
While acknowledging there is a problem, Harry Roque, Duterte’s spokesperson, also said that haters of the administration only cause the “tension.”
“Wala po akong nakikitang tension sa West Philippine Sea. Ang tension po ay binubuo ng mga kritiko dito lang sa Pilipinas po,” Roque said in an online Palace briefing.
(I don’t see any tension in the West Philippine Sea. Tension is only created by critics here in the Philippines.)
“Pero sa labas naman po ng Pilipinas, alam naman po natin na may problema pero wala naman pong tension, hindi po gaya noong nangyari doon sa Scarborough Shoal. Ang ingay po ay nandito sa Pilipinas lamang,” he added.
(But outside the Philippines, we know that there’s a problem but no tension, unlike what happened before at Scarborough Shoal. The noise is only here in the Philippines.)
Duterte, who has been criticized for being too friendly with China, kept saying that the Philippines would not go to war with China over the conflict in the disputed waters.
Malacañang says it does not see any tension in the WPS, and claims critics are only agitating the situation. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
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The President even said he wouldn’t waste the best relationships the Philippines had with China.
READ: Duterte says he won’t waste ‘best relations’ of PH with China