Duterte ‘not in a hurry’ to address South China sea dispute

FILE: In his speech during the High Level Forum on ASEAN@50, Duterte said he made the “correct step” in dealing with the maritime row with China. (ALFRED FRIAS/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO)

President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday found no urgency in solving the South China Sea dispute that he described as one of the “serious problems” confronting the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

In his speech during the High Level Forum on ASEAN@50, Duterte said he made the “correct step” in dealing with the maritime row with China.

“The South China Sea is one but we are not in a hurry. And as a matter of fact, what we did was really the correct step and to avoid confrontational talks with almost all of the parties concerned, just ask for a limited time to solve the problem and sharing of the resources if it could be done,” Duterte said.

The Philippines, just days after Duterte sworn into office as the president, won a landmark decision against China’s declarations over the disputed waters at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands.

Duterte added that there is no need to wage war even though China expressed resistance over the international ruling.

“China has stood pat on its decision. We need not go to war for that. It is not good to add something that is already a very high tension existing in Asia itself,” the president said.

“For after all, it does not mean to say that if it us our economic, our fishpond, our private — there’s no such thing, as you can claim the international waters as your own. The economic zones provided are good and our consensus and concessions that are part of the respect for each other’s interest,” he added.

Aside from the Philippines, ASEAN members Malaysia, Vietnam, and Brunei have also claims over the South China Sea.

Terrorism in Malacca Strait

Duterte underlined that the problem of the Malacca Strait “must be immediately solved” by the member-nations.

“I wish more talks to come, trade. And if there is one thing that must be immediately solved is really the problem of the Malacca Strait,” the president said.

“The Malacca used to be historically a supply route and a shipping lane that was very good for everybody. Of late, terrorism has entered the picture and we see a lot of hijackings and killing of people, and capturing hostages for ransom,” he added.

The Malacca Strait is a 990-kilometer stretch of water between the Malay Peninsula and the Sumatra Island of Indonesia.

Duterte also expressed keenness in talking to the leaders of Indonesia and Malaysia “to put our resources together with theirs to find a solution.”

“Otherwise, that part of sea trade from Australia going up north and Malaysia itself, Indonesia and the Philippines will continue to suffer the degradations of our trade,” the president added.