Philippines threatens to 'deal with' China if there is a deadlock in the East Sea issue

Philippine President Duterte on August 24 threatened to "deal with" China if the two sides could not find a solution to the East Sea dispute.

According toAFP, the above statement was made by Mr. Duterte in the context of the ruling announced by the International Court of Arbitration (PCA) last July that rejected China's so-called "historical sovereignty" over most of the East Sea.

Satellite image of China reclaiming Van Khanh reef in the East Sea. Photo: AFP

However, according to experts, Mr. Duterte's latest statement is full of surprises because up to now, the Philippine President has repeatedly stated that he does not want to "anger" China with tough measures. Instead, Mr. Duterte has sent his special envoy - former Philippine President Fidel Ramos - to China to ease tensions between the two sides.

However, Mr. Duterte’s statement this time shows that he is ready to apply tough confrontation measures if necessary. Speaking to Philippine soldiers, Mr. Duterte emphasized: “We will not be strong right now because we need to wait for China’s reaction after the PCA’s ruling. However, there will come a time when we need to thoroughly handle this.”

Previously, China publicly affirmed that it would ignore the ruling from the PCA and called for direct dialogue with the Philippines.

In response, Mr. Duterte declared that the Philippines would not “insist” on China complying with the PCA’s ruling. However, up to this point, Mr. Duterte has “signaled” that he will change his position.

“China can freely choose its position because whether it wants it or not, not only the Philippines but all Southeast Asian countries will speak up to demand that all parties comply with the PCA's ruling,” Mr. Duterte emphasized.

Mr. Duterte also warned China - which has a military potential many times stronger than the Philippines - not to seek to attack the Philippines.

“I assure you that if China tries to invade Philippine territory, there will be bloodshed because we will not let them do it easily. This will be remembered not only by the Filipino soldiers but also by me,” Mr. Duterte affirmed./.

According to VOV