THE Philippines will not engage in a joint patrol mission beyond the disputed West Philippine Sea to prevent hostility, President Rodrigo Duterte said on Tuesday.
“We will not join any expedition or patrolling. I will not allow it because I do not want my country to be in involved in a hostile act,” Duterte said at the 48th anniversary of the 250th Presidential Airlift Wing held at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.
In April, before Duterte assumed the presidency, the US confirmed that for the first time, American ships have started conducting joint patrols with the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea.
Duterte explained that he did not want to become “gung ho” like America and China, noting that the Philippines' territory is only “limited to the 12-mile limit.”
He also stressed that he merely wanted to patrol within the contested waters.
“The point is I do not want to ride – you know – Gung-Ho style there with China or with America. I just want to patrol our territorial waters,”the President said.
“We’re limited to that. We do not go into the patrol or join any other army for now because I do not want trouble,” he added.
The Philippines won the arbitration case it filed against China to the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration.
The international court on July 12 ruled that China’s claim to the most parts of the disputed South China Sea has no basis.
Former President Fidel Ramos, appointed as the country’s special envoy to China, is set to have a bilateral talk with Chinese officials to address the issue on the sea disputes. (Sunnex)