PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte said Beijing seemed to want to make the Philippines its province as he once again slammed Washington, the Philippines’ traditional ally, for letting the dispute in the South China Sea escalate.
Speaking at the 16th National Convention of Lawyers organized by the Integrated Bar of the Philippines in Pasay City on Thursday night, Duterte likewise reiterated his invitation for China to send its battleship to visit the country,
“It seems like China really wants to make us its province,” Duterte said.
The government last week deployed a Navy frigate off Benham Rise following China’s illegal activities in the area, which the United Nations recognizes as Philippine territory northeast of Luzon.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the BRP Ramon Alcaraz, a newly acquired United States Coast Guard cutter., was cruising toward the coast of Benham Rise to drive away the Chinese ships from the area.
He said there will be regular navy patrols on Benham Rise in the wake of the past sightings of Chinese ships there.
“The Navy will regularly patrol Benham Rise partly due to past Chinese activities there but more importantly because it is part of our Continental shelf and awarded to us by the UN,” Lorenzana said.
Duterte highlighted the many investments that Beijing had pledged to the Philippines, including the construction of bridges over the Pasig River.
“They are giving us two free bridges to span the Pasig River, he said.
He told Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua that he would board their battleship that would be visiting the Philippines.
“China is sending one of its biggest ships. I told the Ambassador of China that I will board it,” Duterte said.
To avoid further escalating the tension in the region, Duterte on Thursday said Manila would allow Beijing to conduct innocent passage within the disputed Scarborough Shoal after the Chinese assured him that they would stop their planned construction of radar structures in the resource-rich waters.
Duterte said Beijing might enter the traditional fishing grounds only after informing relevant Philippine authorities.
In the same speech, Duterte slammed Washington for “wanting the Philippines to be more assertive” about China’s activities in the disputed waters.
Duterte said any miscalculation over the maritime dispute in the South China Sea could mean the Philippines would be caught up in a war.