FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
nationthailand

Duterte walking a tightrope this week in Beijing

Duterte walking a tightrope this week in Beijing

Before conceding to any demands by the Philippine delegation this week, hosts Beijing will insist that President Rodrigo Duterte abrogate the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s international ruling on the South China Sea.

But the ruling against China’s territorial claim is non-negotiable for the Philippines because it will affect all future deals. If China insists, Duterte should walk out.
He should not ask for fishing rights to which we are inherently entitled. By seeking permission, he concedes that we do not have those rights unless China gives them. It also implicitly abrogates the arbitral court’s ruling.
Duterte should focus also on joint oil-gas exploration and extraction, where we are the landowners and China is the investor. The landowners should have a substantial share. Western oil-gas firms always gave the tail of the fish to us. Joint exploration will hopefully dissipate US-China tensions and demilitarise the disputed area.
The agreement can be a model for all future Southeast Asian deals.
Duterte should be careful, because he walks the tightrope between China and the United States – two giants who have conflicting agendas. It is a complex dilemma: how to lean on China commercially and to lessen US military presence all at once.
Bernie V Lopez 

nationthailand