SINGAPORE – President Duterte assured Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc that the Philippines is not abandoning the favorable ruling of the international arbitration tribunal on the West Philippine Sea dispute with China.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the President told Phuc that he is not abandoning the West Philippine Sea ruling at all and that there will come a time that he will confront China with it.
Duterte and Phuc held a bilateral meeting Friday afternoon on the sidelines of the 32nd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Leaders Summit held at the Ritz Carlton Hotel here.
Roque likewise said it was the first time that he heard the President telling another head of state that he is not giving up on the West Philippine Sea ruling.
The presidential spokesman said while Vietnam praises the Philippine position on the West Philippine Sea, the political opposition in the Philippines has been criticizing the President without letup.
The international arbitration tribunal had concluded that China violated the Philippines’ economic and sovereign rights.
Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam also have unresolved overlapping claims on parts of the South China Sea.
The tribunal dismissed China’s “nine-dash line” that claimed 85 percent of the South China Sea as unlawful under the 1982 UN Convention on the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Roque said the President also made it clear to Phuc that the West Philippine Sea involves the favorable arbitration, which he would address when the right time comes.
China has been generous with the Philippines, granting the country assistance in building much needed infrastructure as well as in terms of other investments.
The Vietnamese Prime Minister also reportedly asked the President’s support because they have a joint submission for an extended continental shelf with Malaysia.
Roque said the President was open to looking into how the Philippines could help in the continental shelf issue that Vietnam has asked.
Roque said the President made it clear that the arbitration ruling was a victory for the Philippines alone.
But the bilateral talks with Phuc also pointed to a greater cooperation with Vietnam when it comes to the West Philippine Sea issue.
The President likewise thanked Vietnam for the warm reception being extended to 3,800 Filipinos working and living in Vietnam.
The two leaders met before proceeding to the Istana for the welcome working dinner hosted by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsein Loong for the ASEAN leaders.