PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday, June 5, raised the possibility that state forces might seek his ouster if he forces them to launch a war against China in the disputed South China Sea.
The President feared that the military and the police would defy his possible instruction for them to go to the South China Sea to assert the country's territorial rights, as they are "not prepared to go into a suicide."
"It's easy to make an order. If I tell the military and the police, 'Go there, commit a suicide.' Do you think they will follow me?" he said in an interview in Manila late Tuesday night upon his arrival from South Korea.
"If I do that, I am either inviting trouble within my country, or the military and police will oust me. They are not prepared to go into a suicide. [They] would rather dispense me, rather than lose their soldiers unnecessarily and needlessly," he added.
But for as long as he did not ask for something "impossible," the President was confident that the government forces would continue to follow his orders.
"They will not spare me... As long as you do not ask for impossible, they will obey. But if you feed them to the jaws of hell, they will not. Be careful with that, opposition groups and all," Duterte said.
Duterte made the insinuation amid calls of his critics and maritime experts on his government to take a stronger stance against China's continued militarization of the contested waters.
On May 31, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. confirmed that the Philippine government already filed a diplomatic protest against China over Beijing's aggressive military build-up in its artificial islands in the South China Sea.
The filing of the diplomatic protest came following reports that China "quietly" installed missile systems on its three reefs in the Spratly Islands and landed strategic bombers on Woody Island in the Paracel Islands.
Roque did not provide further details with regard to the content of the diplomatic note, but Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ernesto Abella on June 1 said it contains the Philippines' "considerable concern" over the Filipinos' safety.
For Duterte, the Philippine government is also protesting "every time we open our mouth."
He, however, maintained that the Philippines is not yet ready to wage a war on China, as it might only result in "some kind of trouble," such as a "massacre" of the Philippine troops.
"Can I rely on anybody's help? If all of my soldiers will die there, and all of the policemen [will] assist, the Philippines will be put at stake. Who will answer for that?" the President said.
"We cannot afford a war at this time because it will result in a massacre. I am not prepared to lose my soldiers and policemen for a simple adventurism," he added.
Duterte's refusal to confront China came despite the Philippines' legal victory in the maritime dispute with Beijing.
On July 12, 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague, Netherlands, favored the petition lodged by the Aquino government, seeking to invalidate Beijing's extensive claims to the South China Sea.
Instead of making a bolder statement against China, Duterte slammed his critics for allowing themselves to enjoy "public display of brilliance."
"Are you being realistic or you are just indulging in a public display of brilliance? It's easy to make recommendations when you do not have a position in government," the President said. (SunStar Philippines)