Duterte jokes: China can make PH its province

FILE: President Rodrigo Roa Duterte SIMEON CELI JR./PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

In the middle of the developments between the Philippines and China in the disputed area in the West Philippine Sea, the President threw in a joke about the country being a province of the Red Dragon.

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on Monday was talking to some Chinese-Filipino businessmen about Chinese President Xi Jinping when he added it in jest.

“He is a man of honor. They can even make us ‘Philippines, province of China,’ we will even avail of services for free,” the President joked, according to a report by PhilStar.

Duterte was praising Xi saying, “I respect Xi Jinping, they assured they will not build anything on Scarborough.”

He also added that he is willing to share the Philippine’s oil resources with China.

“You are already rich and besides, we are already a province, province of Philippines, Republic of China. The nearest is Fujian,” the report further quoted the President, who pointed that the Philippines can get two-thirds of the oil for the said reason.

Taiwan, which the Asian giant considers to be part of its territory, was also mentioned by Duterte.

“Just let Taipei be. It’s very small. Let it float there. If you get the Philippines, you won’t have a problem,” he further said.

On the topic, the report also included that the Philippine president mentioned the militarization of the Chinese in the West Philippine Sea, but defended this move.

“It’s really intended for those who China thinks will destroy them and that is America. We are not part of it,” he said.

Duterte then added, “There’s negotiations for joint exploration. Can you beat that? Ignore the missiles there. They are not for us.”

Apart from China’s militarization of its man-made islands in the West Philippine Sea, some other developments include China naming five undersea features in the Philippine Rise (formerly known as Benham Rise).