Duterte on South China Sea dispute: It’s not time for aggression

Duterte on South China Sea dispute: It’s not time for aggression

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President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday said it was not yet time to engage China with “aggression” on the maritime dispute over the South China Sea.
Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a bilateral meeting in Vietnam on Saturday at the close of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec).
Duterte said he raised the issue of the South China Sea amid growing concerns among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) member states on the reclamation and militarization on the disputed sea.

“We never surrendered anything. Just say, I do not want to talk about this for the moment. It is not time for aggression, it is not time for violence,” he said in press briefing at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Terminal 2 after his arrival from Vietnam.

“We have so many problems domestic to take care of before we start to venture on some sort of an aggressive stand,” he added.
But Duterte said he relayed to Xi the concern of Asean member states over the reclamation and militarization in the disputed sea.
“I had to do it because the Philippines chairs the ASEAN now. I cannot escape that from my duty. So I have every right to ask him,” he said.