ILLUSTRATION. F / A-18 Super Hornets Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 11 fighter jet, flying in formation aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) in the Philippine Sea, 18 June 2020.
Source: South China Morning Post | Editor: SS Kurniawan
KONTAN.CO.ID – MANILA. The Philippines will seek US assistance if China attacks its Navy ships in the South China Sea, Foreign Minister Teodoro Locsin Jnr said on Wednesday (23/9).
Locsin’s comments mark the first time the Rodrigo Duterte Administration has publicly declared it will seek US help, amid the ongoing turmoil between the Philippines and China in disputed waters.
Locsin, who was present at the morning talk of the news channel ANC, said the Philippines would continue air patrols over the South China Sea, despite Chinese calls to stop what it called “illegal provocations”.
“They can call it an illegal provocation, you can’t change your mind. They have already lost through an arbitration award, “Locsin said, referring to a 2016 international court ruling that stated China had violated the Philippines’ maritime affairs in the South China Sea.
Also Read: Chaotic South China Sea, Duterte indicated that the Philippines is approaching the US
“(But if) something happens that cannot be attacked but is actually an attack on, say, a Philippine Navy ship, (it) means I will contact Washington DC,” he added. China South Morning Post.
However, Locsin declined to specify the request for assistance to the US. He just said, “I’m not going to discuss it because the essence of prevention theory is uncertainty.”
The truth is, “I am very strict in protecting what is ours, I am very firm in never to bend my knees to China,” he said.
Locsin spoke earlier this month with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo after Washington rejected China’s claim to a disputed resource-rich waterway through which $ 3 trillion in trade passes.
Also Read: South China Sea: An alarm for Taiwan, Indonesia is on full alert
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