Ibinunyag kahapon ni Pangulong Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte na medyo nagulat si Chinese President Xi Jinping nang magpahayag siya nitong nakaraang linggo ng kanyang plano na babanggitin ang isyu sa agawan ng teritoryo sa South China Sea sa Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit.
Gayunman, sinabi ni Duterte na nauunawaan siya ni Xi.
“He [Xi] was quite surprised about my coming in very strong of my statement here about the conduct of the sea,” ani Duterte.
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Sinabi ng Chief Executive na ipinaliwanag niya kay Xi na binabanggit niya ang isyu sa kanilang bilateral talks sa Da Nang, Vietnam bilang Chairman ng Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
“I said, ‘I am not raising any sovereign issue. Do not worry.’ But as Chairman, I made it a tunnel for the communications to be active,” ani Duterte.
“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. But I explained it to him in a very nice way,” dugtong niya.
Tiniyak naman ni Xi kay Duterte na ang lahat ng bansa ay mayroong ‘rights of the safe passage’ sa South China Sea.
“He assured us again, ‘Do not worry. You have all the rights of the safe passage.’ And that will also be applicable to all countries,” pagbabahagi ni Duterte sa napag-usapan nila ni Xi. - Argyll Cyrus B. Geducos
