Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said China threatened to go to war after he asserted the Southeast Asian nation’s sovereignty over disputed territory.
In an unspecified meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), Duterte said he would drill for oil in the South China Sea, citing an international arbitration tribunal ruling upholding the Philippines’ claim.
That prompted a retort from Xi, Duterte said.
Photo: AFP
“Well, if you force this, we’ll be forced to tell you the truth. We will go to war. We will fight you,” Duterte on Friday quoted Xi as saying.
Duterte did not say when and where the conversation took place.
Calls and an e-mail seeking comment from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs outside of regular office hours were not immediately answered.
Since Duterte took office in June last year, the tough-talking 72-year-old leader had repaired fractured ties with China, touting the economic benefits including US$24 billion of loans and investment.
China’s efforts to assert its dominance over the South China Sea, where more than US$5 trillion in annual trade is ferried, have in the past angered Southeast Asian nations with competing claims, such as Vietnam and the Philippines.
The Philippines won a ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands, in last July last year that rejected China’s assertion to the territory.
China has said the tribunal has no jurisdiction over sovereignty disputes.
China’s claim is “far away,” Duterte said in the southern Philippine city of Davao, recalling what he told Xi.
“It’s almost alien to us to hear those words because we were never under Chinese jurisdiction,” he said.
Separately, officials from the two countries agreed to discuss “mutually acceptable approaches” to South China Sea issues during a bilateral consultation in the Chinese city of Guiyang on Friday, according to a joint statement released by the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs.
Handling incidents and disputes in an appropriate manner is important, they said.
The next discussion is to be held in the Philippines in the second half of the year.
TRAGEDY STRIKES TAIPEI: The suspect died after falling off a building after he threw smoke grenades into Taipei Main Station and went on a killing spree in Zhongshan A 27-year-old suspect allegedly threw smoke grenades in Taipei Main Station and then proceeded to Zhongshan MRT Station in a random killing spree that resulted in the death of the suspect and two other civilians, and seven injured, including one in critical condition, as of press time last night. The suspect, identified as a man surnamed Chang Wen (張文), allegedly began the attack at Taipei Main Station, the Taipei Fire Department said, adding that it received a report at 5:24pm that smoke grenades had been thrown in the station. One man in his 50s was rushed to hospital after a cardiac arrest
A car bomb killed a senior Russian general in southern Moscow yesterday morning, the latest high-profile army figure to be blown up in a blast that came just hours after Russian and Ukrainian delegates held separate talks in Miami on a plan to end the war. Kyiv has not commented on the incident, but Russian investigators said they were probing whether the blast was “linked” to “Ukrainian special forces.” The attack was similar to other assassinations of generals and pro-war figures that have either been claimed, or are widely believed to have been orchestrated, by Ukraine. Russian Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, 56, head
SAFETY FIRST: Double the number of police were deployed at the Taipei Marathon, while other cities released plans to bolster public event safety Authorities across Taiwan have stepped up security measures ahead of Christmas and New Year events, following a knife and smoke bomb attack in Taipei on Friday that left four people dead and 11 injured. In a bid to prevent potential copycat incidents, police deployments have been expanded for large gatherings, transport hubs, and other crowded public spaces, according to official statements from police and city authorities. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said the city has “comprehensively raised security readiness” in crowded areas, increased police deployments with armed officers, and intensified patrols during weekends and nighttime hours. For large-scale events, security checkpoints and explosives
PUBLIC SAFETY: The premier said that security would be tightened in transport hubs, while President Lai commended the public for their bravery The government is to deploy more police, including rapid response units, in crowded public areas to ensure a swift response to any threats, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after a knife attack killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei the previous day. Lai made the remarks following a briefing by the National Police Agency on the progress of the investigation, saying that the attack underscored the importance of cooperation in public security between the central and local governments. The attack unfolded in the early evening on Friday around Taipei Main Station’s M7 exit and later near the Taipei MRT’s Zhongshan
RSS