SINGAPORE — President Duterte said here he will try his best to comply with the three- year timeline agreed upon by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and China to conclude the Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea.
On the sidelines before attending the Asean-India Summit, Duterte reiterated that there is an urgent need for the COC.
The Philippines is the dialogue coordinator for the Asean-China Dialogue Relations until 2021.
“Well, you know I’m the country coordinator for Asean-China. I will try my best. I made a very strong statement yesterday about the urgent need for a COC so that everybody will know. Because when you claim an ocean, the whole of it, then that is a new development in today’s world. So any sense, it would also change — radical changes in the laws of governing international waters, particularly the right of free passage or the right of innocent passage,” Duterte said.
Meanwhile, the President also pointed out that America should by this time consider as a given China’s presence in the disputed waters.
“And all of these things, China is there. That’s a reality and America and everybody should realize that they are there,” he said.
He also cautioned against the conduct of any high-profile military activity that could prompt a response from China.
“I do not mind everybody going to war, except that the Philippines is just beside those islands. And if there’s a shooting there, my country will be the first to suffer. That’s my only in — that is my only national interest there. Nothing else,” he added.
On Wednesday, Duterte said he is determined to push the COC “at all costs”, noting that everything is going well between China and the rest of the world except that the Philippines is tied with the mutual defense treaty with the United States which keeps it from shooing away the Western superpower.