Duterte denies “gentleman’s agreement” between PH, China on WPS

FILE: Former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte delivers his speech during the Philippine Military Academy commencement exercises at the Fajardo Grandstand, Borromeo Field in Fort Gen. Gregorio H. del Pilar, Baguio City on May 15, 2022. REY BANIQUET/ PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

DAVAO CITY – Former President Rodrigo Duterte has denied the “gentleman’s agreement” between the Philippines and China on the West Philippine Sea (WPS) during his term.

In a late-night press briefing Thursday, he said that having a “gentleman’s agreement” is not a practice of the president.

“There is no agreement, as is where it is,” he said, adding that nobody in the Philippines today, whether in the Supreme Court, Presidency, or Congress, could concede anything about territories.

He added that the only thing he remembered when he spoke with Xi Jinping, the President of the People’s Republic of China, was the status quo order, which states that armed patrols will not be seen moving in the WPS territories to avoid tension and war.

“That’s what I remember. If it were a gentleman’s agreement, it would always have been an agreement to keep the peace in the South China Sea,” Duterte said.

He vowed to talk about the matter in the coming days to shed more light on the issue.

“I will be expressing more [in the coming days] because I just received all documents of Malacañang about foreign policy. I just got it tonight, and I want to review all the agreements that we entered into by the defense department and me,” Duterte said.

He recalled that when he went to China and spoke with the President, he opened up about the “part of the China Sea that belongs to the Philippines.”

“There is a part of the China Sea that belongs to the Philippines; I just want to let you know. I will get the portion that belongs to the Philippines. Xi Jinping answered, do not do it. We are friends, and I do not want to destroy the friendship; it would mean trouble,” Duterte said, adding that if they insisted on their way there, China would go to war.

He said after the conversation, they avoided the controversy and avoided the issue of the Philippines getting into unclaimed territories to extract minerals and all.