Palace defends Duterte's 'no weapons stockpiling' order in Palawan

Palace defends Duterte's 'no weapons stockpiling' order in Palawan

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte's decision to bar any country from stockpiling weapons in Palawan reflects his "acumen and diplomacy" in resolving the South China Sea disputes, MalacaƱang said on Wednesday, November 14.

In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo noted that "well-meaning" dissertations had been put forward on the issue of sea disputes, but these "lack the pragmatism and the reality of geopolitics."

Panelo hence said Duterte had decided to embark on a "cautious, pragmatic, diplomatic yet independent stand" on how to deal with the arbitral ruling on the South China Sea, which is "favorable" to the Philippines.

"The President has a wealth of information at his disposal, which is not readily available to ordinary citizens or foreigners, hence he is in the best position to decide on international matters that affect the welfare of the nation," Panelo said.

"The President not only steers clear of a potential warfare with China but anticipates any armed conflict between two powerful countries," he added.

Panelo's statement came after international political risk analyst Anders Corr warned that Duterte's recent pronouncement would make Palawan "militarily vulnerable to the advantage of China."

In a speech delivered in Palawan on November 10, Duterte said he would not let any country to stockpile arms and ammunition in Palawan, in case war breaks out in the South China Sea.

Duterte made the remark, as he reiterated that the Philippines would stay away from trouble, since it cannot afford to go to war with any country.

Panelo said Palawan, given its proximity to its "giant neighbor" China, "could be a flaming collateral damage if not an object of a strategic assault," should tensions in the contested waters lead to an armed conflict.

"It is in the best interest of the nation that the President maintains constructive dialogues with China through a bilateral consultation mechanism," he said.

In the same speech in Palawan, Duterte floated the possibility of inviting "big" players to end the rotational power outages in the province.

The President then bared that China was "itching" to get a hold of developments in Palawan.

Corr cautioned that China's possible entry as power producer in Palawan could bolster Beijing's South China Sea claim.

Panelo, however, said the possibility that China would be an electricity producer in the province "is merely a business matter owing to their technical knowhow on power outages."

"All projects, whether proposed by domestic or foreign entities, shall undergo strict legal processes before any approval is given by the government," Panelo said. (SunStar Philippines)

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