It is offending China, not war, that Pres. Duterte is avoiding – IBON
It is offending China, not war, that Pres. Duterte is avoiding – IBON
By IBON Media
Research group IBON said that Pres. Duterte’s stance on the West Philippine Sea (WPS) issue, as expressed in his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA), is not about avoiding war with China, but is about avoiding offending the Chinese government and losing all its promised funds.
Last July 22, Pres. Duterte highlighted the possibility of China attacking the country if the government took a strong stance on its claims in the disputed WPS. According to the president, “more and better results can be reached in the privacy of a conference room than in a squabble in public”.
IBON, however, said that the administration is only using the possibility of war to conceal the agreements reached “in the privacy of a conference room” between the Philippine and Chinese governments which seem to be at the expense of the Filipino people’s interests.
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