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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Recto defends Duterte's China visit: 'Hindi pwedeng sa Amerikano lang tayo nakikipag-usap'

Recto defends Duterte's China visit: 'Hindi pwedeng sa Amerikano lang tayo nakikipag-usap'

Published Jul 19, 2023 07:41 am
Former president Rodrigo Duterte (left) and the flag of China (Malacañang photo, Unsplash)




The Philippines should talk to everybody, not just the United States (US). Thus, said House Deputy Speaker and Batangas City 6th district Rep. Ralph Recto on Wednesday, July 19, as he defended former president Rodrigo Duterte's move of flying to Beijing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The former president, Recto said, can fill a vacuum in the Philippines' relationship with China, "which has been frayed by territorial disputes, yet remains a strong trading partner". “Hindi pwedeng sa Amerikano lang tayo nakikipag-usap. Kausapin natin lahat, kahit doon sa katampuhan natin. Di ba ‘friend to all, enemy to no one’ naman tayo?“ he said, referring to incumbent President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s oft-mentioned foreign policy. (We can't limit our conversations to the Americans. Let's talk to everyone, even those that we have a disagreement with. Aren't we a 'friend to all, enemy to no one?'") “Kahit doon sa umaapi sa atin, hindi natin pwedeng dedmahin (We cannot ignore even those that mistreat us),” Recto said. But Recto said it would have been better if Xi had told Duterte during their meeting that he had ordered a stop to the Chinese blockade of Filipino boats in the West Philippine Sea (WPS). “Xi could have thanked PRRD for his visit with the grand gesture of deescalating the tension in that area,“ he said. Recto said that the former Philippine president’s “good relations with Xi should be leveraged to achieve something good for our country". It was only last July 12 when the Philippines marked the seventh anniversary of the Philippines' historic Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) victory against China's expansive, nine-dash line territorial claim over practically the entire South China Sea. The nine-dash line covers the West Philippine Sea (WPS) and waters within the Philippines' 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The landmark 2016 decision of the PCA, which is based at The Hague, Netherlands, invalidated Beijing's claim.

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