Duterte Was 'Apologetic' When He Brought Up Spratly Islands With China's Xi

On Sunday, presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo quoted Duterte as telling Xi, “I didn’t want to alarm you with what I’m about to raise because of your problem in Hong Kong, which is why I’m asking for forgiveness, but I need to say this because I promised my countrymen.” The Chinese leader’s response, according to Panelo was, “I understand, and I am OK with it” while continuing to deny the arbitral ruling.

From the International Business Times.


UPDATE: But PHL Foreign Secretary says it did not happen.

Damage control. I trust Panelo more on this one.

Foreign Sec. TeddyBoy Locsin: West PH Sea gas exploration has to be with China 'unless other people step up'

The Philippines has to explore with China oil and gas reserves believed to be sitting deep beneath the West Philippine Sea "unless other people step up," Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said Wednesday. 

Manila and Beijing, during President Rodrigo Duterte's visit to China last week, signed a deal on joint oil and gas exploration, and another on the Belt and Road infrastructure push, noted Locsin during a budget briefing before the House of Representatives' appropriations committee. 

“We’re gonna have to do it with China unless other people step up the way Shell stepped up in Malampaya before,” Locsin said, referring to the gas field off Palawan where Shell Philippines Exploration BV leads the operating consortium. 

Abs Cbn reports.

FLASHBACK: China warns Philippines to prepare for WAR if Manila drills for oil in South China Sea

Meaning, Xi will go to war against the Philippines if we drill for oil on our own without China's permission.

 

The Case for Impeaching Duterte

So China won't allow Duterte to be removed from office, but what if China is the reason Duterte gets ousted?

#impeach16

‘How long can we take the bullying of China?’ – Lacson

from the Inquirer:

MANILA, Philippines— How long can the Philippines take China’s bullying?

Senator  Panfilo  Lacson did not mince words on Tuesday when he branded as “bullying” the ramming and sinking of an anchored Philippine fishing boat by a Chinese  vessel last June 9 at Recto (Reed) Bank in the West Philippine Sea.

Lacson reiterated that the incident was a test of both patience and respect. 

“Respect on the part of the Chinese government towards an ally which is the Philippines; and patience on the part of our government,” he said in an interview over  CNN Philippines.

“How long can we take the bullying of China, hindi lang sa fishermen; the Filipinos themselves ‘di ba?” said the senator.

Asked if it was clear that the Philippines is being bullied by China, Lacson said:  “We’re being bullied. That’s clear enough. Hindi lang ito ang incident.”

Frontrunner in 2022.

Why is there a Chinese military vessel in Reed Bank?

The question now is, why is China’s military vessel in Reed Bank?

Reed Bank is 800 nautical miles from mainland China. But it’s included in the all encompassing nine-dash-line map, which no other country recognizes.

China has always coveted Reed Bank.

Many years ago, the Philippine Navy found Chinese markers near Reed Bank.

Reed Bank was what China wanted in exchange for the massive loans that it granted the government of Gloria Arroyo who entered into the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) with China and Vietnam to explore that area.

The legality of the JMSU has been questioned before the Supreme Court which has not decided on it.

Reed Bank is not mentioned in the November 2018 PH-China Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Gas and Oil development signed by Foreign Secretary Teddy Locsin and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. But it is the understanding that it is the location of MOU, which has not yet evolved into agreement.


In 2010, under the presidency of Benigno Aquino III, the Department of Energy awarded Service Contract 72 to Forum Energy Plc. (FEP) exploration rights to a basin within Reed Bank. Manuel B. Pangilinan’s Philex owns 64.45 percent of FEP, a London-based listed oil and gas exploration firm focused on the Philippines,

Earlier seismic surveys showed that Reed Bank holds vast natural gas reserves with estimates ranging from billions to trillion cubic feet.

From Ellen Tordesillas.

FLASHBACK: China behaving like Nazi Germany in South China Sea, says Benigno Aquino

“I’m an amateur student of history and I’m reminded of ... how Germany was testing the waters and what the response was by various other European powers,” he said, referring to the Nazis’ territorial conquests in the months before the outbreak of the second world war.

“They tested the waters and they were ready to back down if, for instance, in that aspect, France said (to back down).

But unfortunately, up to the annexation of the Sudetenland, Czechoslovakia, the annexation of the entire country of Czechoslovakia, nobody said stop.

If somebody said stop to Hitler at that point in time, or to Germany at that time, would we have avoided World War II.”

From the Guardian.

Duterte to Xi Jinping: No U.S. troops on Pag-Asa Island

Source article:

In a television interview, Duterte recalled telling Xi not to waste gasoline in sending ships to Pag-asa island.

“‘Why are you surrounding my island with so many ships? You’re wasting your gasoline.’ That’s my exact words. ‘You’re wasting your gasoline. You might as well give it to us,’” the President said.

“I told you I will not allow, as long as I am President, any American to set foot on that Pag-asa. Because I know that it will create really trouble. And I will not allow their arms. If it’s a Philippine government arms given to us by America, well that’s another story. If you want, you can give us a better one,” he added.

But if China does it, it's okay? Ah, maybe because the 2019 midterm elections' over and Duterte is back to his default mode on China.

 “I told him, ‘Did I not tell you, Mr. President (Xi), that I will never allow the Americans to set foot on any of the islands controlled by the Philippines? That we will not start any war and that I will never allow American weapons to be stationed in that island?’” he said.

“Do not deprive them [Filipino fishermen] because you know we are poor. You prohibit us, you will just create the inflation to go higher,” Duterte added.

Begging?

FLASHBACK: China’s Spratlys intrusions connected to Gloria Arroyo deal

 from GMAnews:

The current word war between the Philippines and China is another proof of the continuing curse of Gloria Arroyo on the Filipino people. The latest series of diplomatic protests lodged by the Philippines with China and submitted also to the United Nations have its roots to the controversial Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking entered into by the Arroyo government with China in 2004 which allowed China and later on Vietnam to explore not only the Philippine-occupied islands in the disputed mineral-rich Spratlys but areas that are clearly Philippine territory. The JMSU was signed during Gloria Arroyo’s 2004 visit to China which paved the way for the signing of at least two graft-riddled deals: North Rail and national broadband network with ZTE agreements.

Basically, Arroyo sold our territories to China for crooked deals.

More: Arroyo: I know ZTE contract tainted but can’t cancel deal

 

China wants the Duterte Model in settling SCS disputes with other ASEAN countries

Beijing wants to apply the Duterte Model of finding a solution to its South China Sea disputes with Malaysia. Negotiating a bilateral deal with Kuala Lumpur, that is, rather than a multilateral deal that could involve all countries having an interest in the region.

That’s according to an article that appeared in The South China Morning Post, which claims that “Beijing is pushing for mechanism like it has with Manila… rather than go directly to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.”

That "Duterte Model" is going to get Duterte executed for treason.

Flashback: President Aquino Should Avoid Inflammatory Rhetoric On South China Sea: China Is Not Nazi Germany!

Garbage article minimizing the threat of China from 2015. How much are the Chicoms paying that guy?

Trump orders national emergency on information security; Commerce Department follows with Huawei restrictions

• Trump’s order bars the use of telecoms equipment made by companies deemed a threat to US national security, threatening Huawei

• Move would stymie Huawei’s efforts to expand into critical 5G market, giving US a chance to play catch-up 

from the South China Morning Post.

Mike de Leon drops new docu, this time on China and its “love affair” with the Philippines

Chinese firms could gain footholds at both Subic and Clark in the Philippines

Chinese businesses are still in the running to take over a Subic Bay shipyard and could soon also control nearly 2 square miles of what was once America’s largest air base in the Philippines, according to local media reports.

Philippines Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the government would not, and could not, block Chinese offers to buy Subic Bay shipbuilder Hanjin Philippines, which has defaulted on $1.3 billion in loans, according to an April 25 Reuters news agency report.

From Stars and Stripes.

UPDATE: Compare and Contrast, people.

Trump administration forces China to sell the Port of Long Beach

Oh: PT&T pairs up with Chinese firm for national wifi network

The Philippine Telegraph & Telephone Corp. (PT&T) will put up a national wi-fi service with a Chinese partner.

In a disclosure on Monday, the listed telecommunications firm said its chairman Salvador Zamora II signed a $500-million deal with China's CITIC Networks Co. Ltd. to roll out wi-fi internet connection, digital television, and satellite network services covering the whole country.

Zamora through his holding company Tranzen Group, Inc. signed the memorandum of understanding with Citic's Luo Ning last month in Beijing, forming part of the over $12-billion business deals fetched during President Rodrigo Duterte's latest visit to the Mainland.

Can we trust China? I guess we can experience what Venezuela experienced if China decides to flip the switch and shut down the entire country?

FORBES: Philippines Can Escape From China -- There's Still Time

The Philippines is already caught in China’s web, but there’s still the time and a way to escape from it.

The time is now that its economy isn’t heavily dependent on China. And the way is by saying “no” to Chinese investments that could leave the country heavily indebted to Beijing...

It can say “no” to Chinese investment projects that promote China’s ambitions rather than Philippines priorities.

Why? For a simple reason: the Philippines economy doesn’t depend heavily on China, as other Asian economies do (e.g., the Malaysian economy).

China isn’t the top direct investor in the Philippines --  Japan, US, and Singapore are.
China isn’t the top export market for the Philippines either. Last year, America was the top export market, at 10.6 billion (15.6% of total Filipino exports), followed by Hong Kong ($9.6 billion (14.2%), and Japan $9.5 billion (14%). China occupied the fourth position($8.7 billion (12.9%).

That’s in sharp contrast with Malaysia, where China is the largest export market for Malaysia ($42.5B), followed by Singapore (35.7B), and the US ($33.1B).

This means that Beijing doesn’t have leverage against any “irrational” behavior by the Philippines, like canceling Chinese projects, as it has over Malaysia.

By coincidence, Malaysia’s exports dropped unexpectedly followed a decision of the country’s newly elected leadership to cancel certain Chinese projects.

If only there's some way we can check Duterte. Article here.

Rappler: Foreign-funded? Journalists hit back, say gov't gets funds from China

On World Press Freedom Day, journalists point out that the government's own media apparatus gets huge funding from China

Bridge burning bridges: Why the China-funded Binondo-Intramuros structure is controversial

MANILA, Philippines — It is unclear where a bridge symbolizing the fusion of two cultures—or ties of two states—is leading, as its construction faces opposition from local and international organizations and from some government agencies.

The construction of China-funded Binondo-Intramuros "Friendship" Bridge last year made headlines as the proposed project is feared to overstep the edge of the San Agustin Church’s buffer zone in the walled historic area of Intramuros in Manila.

Encroachment of the buffer zone, required by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, could lead to the delisting of the church and three other baroque churches in the country as world heritage sites.

China don't care. China just want to help Duterte "build, build, build"

Read the rest here.

HUGE: US warns China on aggressive acts by fishing boats and coast guard

The US has warned China that it will respond to provocative acts by its coast guard and fishing boats in the same way it reacts to the Chinese navy in an effort to curb Beijing’s aggressive behaviour in the South China Sea.

Admiral John Richardson, head of the US navy, said he told his Chinese counterpart, vice-admiral Shen Jinlong, in January that Washington would not treat the coast guard or maritime militia — fishing boats that work with the military — differently from the Chinese navy, because they were being used to advance Beijing’s military ambitions.

Significant if true.

Read this comment from a forum:

China and the US are preparing for a war of the sea in the next 5 years or so. The philippines will be dirextly affected by it. Whether we be friends with China or not its just gonna happen. But our side should always be with the allies (US) because if they win we win. If China wins, we lose. Thats just basic common sense.

Rappler: DFA warns Duterte gov't vs Huawei amid warming ties with China

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has warned President Rodrigo Duterte’s government about the risks of partnering with telecommunications giant Huawei in government projects, an internal memorandum obtained by Rappler showed.

“The Department of Foreign Affairs respectfully informs the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), the National Security Council, and the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) that the Czech Republic and France have issued orders to limit the use of Huawei products primarily due to security concerns,” the memorandum dated January 25 read.

It added: “The ban was prompted by the security alert issued by the Czech National Cyber and Security Information Agency (NCISA) that Huawei devices may be used to damage the country’s national interests.”

The DFA then said that France placed restrictions on Huawei as it feared that “China could spy on countries where it has a network presence” of “potential backdoors” in their codes. (READ: European telecoms' dilemma: Huawei or the highway?)

But will Duterte listen? Article here.

"Manila Set To Block Chinese Bidders From Largest Shipyard, National Security Concerns Over Subic Bay Outweigh Warmer Bilateral Ties.

The Philippine government is set to exclude Chinese bidders from acquiring the country's largest shipyard, situated at the entrance to the highly sensitive South China Sea, amid concerns over Beijing's growing military presence in the region and its potential threat to national security.

The shipyard collapsed in January after South Korea’s Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction and its Philippine unit defaulted on $1.3 billion in loans. A number of foreign bidders have declared their interest in acquiring the facility, including at least two from China.

Nikkei Asian Review has learned that Manila's Department of Trade and Industry has adopted the Philippine defense ministry's position that a Chinese takeover of the financially troubled shipyard could compromise national security, according to sources in the government.

Good!

Duterte: America Afraid Of Going To War With China, Blames Del Rosario And Aquino Admin For Losing Scarborough

Duterte says US afraid of war vs. China, calls Del Rosario stupid

War over Scarborough 'not worth it' for the US, says Duterte

and this:

Also, he blamed the Aquino administration for doing nothing.

"Why didn't the Philippine government go there at the site with its ship and ask China 'what are you doing here? You are not supposed to build artificial islands in international seas,'" Duterte said in mixed English and Cebuano.

He also lashed out at the US. "America did not also do anything. And now that the islands are built up and military facilities are war-equipped they ask me to go there."
"If I go there to show off, we will all be crushed, and my soldiers and police forces will be massacred. So, we need to negotiate unless we decide to attack China."

Moreover, he said that if we decide to challenge China, "Who will be with me? Will America do so? It won't."

He pointed out that America has failed for years to address its problem with Iran and Iraq.

"In sum, the US has not won its war in the Middle East for years. Who won? No one. The losers are the people and most of the casualties of the war were civilians —the women, the elderly, and children. That's the truth," Duterte said.

Duterte's wrong. Blame the Obama administration for weakness against China if want. And this doesnt excuse Digong from selling out to Xi Jinping.

How Vietnam Quietly Built up 10 Islands in Asia’s Most Disputed Sea

Vietnam is upgrading islets to make them harder for China to take without a cost, not for offensive military use, Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative Director Gregory Poling said.

“The Vietnamese endgame seems to be making these facilities more survivable, raising the cost for the Chinese to try to take them,” he said.

China normally leaves Vietnam alone at sea because they have shown a willingness to “bump shoulders” with Chinese vessels if pushed, he said.

Source: VOANews.

ASIA TIMES: Has Duterte’s China pivot backfired?

Nothing new, but Good article that sumarizes all the fuck ups of the Duterte administration.

Malacanang Palace: US could have stopped China in South China Sea

Inquirer reporting:

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang lamented on Wednesday the United States’ inaction on Beijing’s massive reclamation in the disputed South China Sea.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo issued the statement following reports of China’s continued aggression in the disputed waters, including poaching giant clams in Scarborough Shoal and deploying Chinese maritime militia near the Philippine-occupied Pag-asa Island.

“Well, like America is there, they could have stopped China from the inception, but they did not,” Panelo said in an interview over ABS-CBN News Channel on Wednesday.

Well, the Obama admin refused to confront China at that time just as they were afraid to confront Russia until after the 2016 elections. ☺

Robredo Hits Back At Imee Marcos For Saying Philippines Started Fight With China

Vice President Leni Robredo on Sunday, April 14, slammed Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos, a senatorial candidate, for her "insensitive" comment on the maritime dispute between the Philippines and China.


"Iyon talagang nakakadismaya.... Talagang napaka-insensitive. Nakakatakot na ganito iyong magiging senador," Robredo said on her weekly radio show.
(That's really disappointing.... Utterly insensitive. It would be scary to have a senator who thinks like that.)

In a television interview, Marcos claimed it was Manila that started the fight with Beijing. China claims ownership of virtually the entire South China Sea, including waters within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.

Former president Benigno Aquino III, Robredo's ally, had brought China to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague over the dispute. The arbitral tribunal ruled in favor of the Philippines.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines has said more than 600 Chinese ships have circled Pag-asa Island since January, according to ABS-CBN News.

SOURCE: Rappler

Teddy Locsin Walks Back Duterte Admin's Tough Talk Against China

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said that now is not the “right time” to raise disagreements on disputed territories in the South China Sea, when the Philippines and China are both “hot under the collar.”

“This is actually not the right time to bring up disagreements over the South China Sea / West Philippine Sea with both sides hot under the collar while a pissing contest is in full flower,” he said in a tweet on Monday.

“But ‘swarming in unison’ is definitely not traditional fishing under any definition,” he added referring to the reported presence of Chinese vessels near Pag-asa Island.

Locsin’s tweet came days after Philippine and Chinese officials asserted their stand on the maritime dispute that has long involved the two countries.

Last week, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang maintained China’s claims over the Spratly Islands, citing legal and historical basis and accounts.

SOURCE: Inquirer.

UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES: West sends Brunei into China’s arms with outrage over its anti-gay sharia laws

As oil reserves run out, Brunei looks to China to back critical development projects as it faces Western censure over sharia laws many say are only for show

Source.

"Locsin’s tough talk can help draw attention away from the President’s lame reaction to the red dragon’s gobbling up bits and pieces of Philippine maritime areas."

Federico Pascual, on the balancing act Duterte has to do for his Chinese benefactors and Angry Filipinos, and how Teddyboy is the shiny object drawing attention from the pathetic Digong.

SCMP: Beijing tried to block Philippine military facilities on disputed island ‘over fears US could use them’

China’s deployment of a large fleet of vessels to the Philippines-held Thitu Island in the South China Sea is aimed at blocking the country’s construction of military facilities on the disputed island in the Spratly chain because it is concerned that the United States will be able to use such facilities, diplomatic observers said.

 Read the whole thing.

Previously: Beijing sends ships to disputed island ‘to stop Philippines building’

" We predict that future administrations will have to cancel the Kaliwa and Chico projects and default on the Chinese loans, which will result in the Philippines being sued by China in arbitration proceedings that have been designed to favor the creditor."

Read the rest of the article from Rappler.

Who owns the Spratlys? Palace invokes pro-PHL arbitral ruling vs. China

Malacañang on Friday for the first time invoked the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration that invalidated China's historic claims over most of the South China Sea including the Philippines exclusive economic zone.

President Rodrigo Duterte's spokesman Salvador Panelo made the remark after Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said that the Spratly Islands or Nansha, as the Chinese call them, were part of Chinese territory.

GMANews Online reports.

FLASHBACK: Obama Administration in 2013 told PHL govt to shut up on China's Bullying Tactics

UPDATE 4/17/19: Del Rosario: US brokered talks to end 2012 Panatag standoff,

 Former Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario on Tuesday said for the first time that the United States played a key role in the events that led to the Philippines losing control of Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal to China in 2012 and reignited the dispute in the South China Sea.

confirming what Ellen reported.

From Ellen Tordesillas: U.S to PH: stop anti-China rhetorics

Many , including high-ranking Philippine officials, like to think that increased presence of American military in the Philippines, which is a subject of talks between the two countries starting today, is a commitment by the Americans to defend the Philippines in case of an armed conflict in the West Philippine Sea, where a number of islands are being claimed wholly or partly by the Philippines, Brunei, China,Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Those who have taken these view will be disappointed because the U.S has taken a neutral position in the conflicting claims in the South China Sea (part of it is referred to as West Philippine Sea) and has always been consistent in urging for a peaceful resolution of the conflicting claims.

The Obama administration has decided to rebalance its military forces from Middle East to Asia, in what is seen by analysts as a move to contain China’s hegemony in the region.

Primarily, the U.S. wants to ensure that the sealanes are open and unhampered for international navigation.

But as former UN Representative Lauro Baja, Jr. observed, the Americans do not want to ‘vulgarize’ this objective.

In increasing its presence in Asia, the United States does not want to play referee to countries fighting over islands, rocks and shoals. “They want a stable region. They don’t want to prejudice their strategic relations with China, which is more important than claims over rocks and shoals,” Baja said.

In preparation for the implementation of their Pivot to Asia policy, senior American officials have been coming here the past months and assessing the situation. One thing that they were concerned about is the tension between the Philippines and China over the disputed islands especially Bajo de Masinloc otherwise known as Scarborough Shoal or Panatag shoal and lately the Ayungin shoal.

The Philippines has filed a suit with the UN Arbitral Court questioning China’s nine dash-line, which encompasses the whole South China Sea including several countries’ territories.

A source said some of the analysts interviewed by American officials said that the “Shame China” strategy of the Department of Foreign Affairs under Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario has contributed largely to the deteriorating relations between the Philippines and China.

Del Rosario has, several times accused China of “duplicity and intimidation.” Malacañang spokesperson Edwin Lacierda has also made sure that he is not behind in China-bashing.

In the 2010 and 2011 State-of-the Nation address by President Aquino, he had strong words against China.

In his 2011 SONA, Aquino, declared: “ There was a time when we couldn’t appropriately respond to threats in our own backyard. Now, our message to the world is clear: What is ours is ours; setting foot on Recto Bank is no different from setting foot on Recto Avenue.”

He was referring to the disputed Recto or Reed Bank near Palawan.

In his 2012 SONA, he talked lengthily about the situation in Bajo de Masinloc. He said, “We demonstrated utmost forbearance in dealing with this issue. As a sign of our goodwill, we replaced our navy cutter with a civilian boat as soon as we could. We chose not to respond to their media’s harangues. I do not think it excessive to ask that our rights be respected, just as we respect their rights as a fellow nation in a world we need to share.

“There are those who say that we should let Bajo de Masinloc go; we should avoid the trouble. But if someone entered your yard and told you he owned it, would you agree? Would it be right to give away that which is rightfully ours?”

Aquino can be stubborn. But he listens to America. Last year,a month after he withdrew all the ships from Bajo de Masinloc, he, supported by the majority of the members of his cabinet, decided to send back the ships to the area which was by then already controlled by the Chinese. Upon learning of Malacañang’s decision, the U.S. relayed the advice through defense officials that it would not be wise to send back the ships to Bajo de Masinloc. The ships were not sent back.

Our source said, two weeks before the President’s State of the Nation address, U.S. officials advised the DFA and Malacanang to tone down their anti-China rhetorics to reduce tension in the region. That explains why in last month’s SONA there was no mention, not a word, about conflict with China.

Last Aug. 2, Del Rosario, who never let any media opportunity to censure China pass, told members of the foreign correspondents association in the country, that he was not keen on guesting in their forum on the South China Sea because he was “looking for a modus vivendi with China.”

China should thank Uncle Sam.

China has made so much progress in the last 8 years under Obama seizing areas that dont belong to them, that a Trump defeat in 2020 will be welcome news to the Asian hegemon.

UPDATE: SCMP: Beijing tried to block Philippine military facilities on disputed island ‘over fears US could use them’

FLASHBACK: Duterte Says China's Xi Jinping Won't Allow His Removal From Office

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping had provided him with a personal assurance that Beijing would not allow him to be removed from office.

“The assurances of Xi are very encouraging: we will not allow you to be taken out from your office and we will not allow the Philippines to go to the dogs,” Duterte said in a speech Tuesday.

 From Bloomberg. Kinda like what Russia is doing with Maduro.

FLASHBACK: Is China Helping Duterte Destroy Leila De Lima?

 From the Inquirer:

“You know I was the whipping boy of the NGOs (nongovernment organizations) and the human rights stalwarts. But you know I have a special ano kay ano, she is a government official. One day soon, I’ll have to let her go in public and I will have to destroy her in public,” he said.

When asked whom he was referring to, Duterte said: “That’s the riddle there.”

“Just wait. They might have thought that I never listened to them. So, while all the time they were also listening to what I’ve done. I’ve also been busy with the help of another country listening to them,” he said.

Rodrigo Duterte made his statement on August 12, 2016 during Obama's time, so in hindsight we can eliminate the USA as a suspect in helping Duterte illegally eavesdrop on the opposition.

Malamang China ang guilty party.

Watch the Chilling Video:

MORE: Duterte says 'sympathetic' foreign country spying on his critics

 President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday revived his claim that a foreign country “sympathetic” to him has supplied information on his critics.

Duterte said his critics such as communist leader Jose Maria Sison, the Magdalo group, and those who have been rejecting him since the May 2016 elections “have combined" in supposed destabilization efforts.

“I have the evidence. I have the conversation provided by a foreign country sympathetic to us. We don’t have that sophistication,” he said without naming his source.

CHINA!

PH and U.S. officials join hands during closing of Balikatan

China’s swarming: ‘Cabbage strategy’

A CHINESE general gave a preview way back in 2013 of how their People’s Liberation Army deploys a swarm of vessels around disputed islands in the South China Sea in what he called a “cabbage strategy” to take full control.

We were then surprised that the Chinese swarming of Pagasa island off Palawan was initially dismissed by President Duterte’s spokesman as if it were something as innocent as cruising around the block to look for a parking slot. We dug up old Postscripts on that cabbage strategy.

It was probably by force of habit of defending China that the President’s spokesman minimized the swarming – confirmed by the military and independent observers – by hundreds of militia boats around Pagasa, the main island in the cluster of isles comprising the town of Kalayaan in Palawan.

It was a good thing President Duterte, in a departure from his known pro-China bias – stepped in and warned Beijing to lay off Pagasa where there is a thriving Filipino community and a functioning municipal government.

Federico Pascual writes. Maybe too little, too late?

"China showed no unusual resistance to Vietnam’s “modest upgrades” to its facilities in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea contrary to how it responded to the Philippines’ rehabilitation efforts, analysts have observed."

Vietnam occupies 49 outposts spread across 27 features in the contested Spratly Islands, while the Philippines has 9.

“Vietnam continues quietly upgrading its facilities across the Spratlys, so far without provoking the same large-scale paramilitary response from China as Philippine upgrades have,” Washington think-tank Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative said in its latest report on the South China Sea.

From the Inquirer: Unlike PH, Vietnam’s ‘modest upgrades’ in Spratlys get no repulse from China

China: No Longer the Wave of the Future

Not too long ago the West was breezily talking of China as if the 1989 Tiananmen Square debacle and its aftermath that saw the Chinese government kill some 10,000 protesters and dissidents was a mere speed bump on the fated way to Chinese democracy and an open society. Beltway wisdom was that any year China could experience a moment akin to the collapse of the Berlin Wall.

Then status quo elite thinking in Washington was that even if the Chinese ran up huge deficits, treated their trading partners in ruthless fashion, jailed critics in a vast gulag archipelago, and mimicked the colonialism and imperialism of the former Japanese Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere of the late 1930s and 1940s, Beijing, nonetheless, would inevitably translate its new affluence and self-confidence into free elections and eventual liberal society — or at least become a benign world hegemon.
After all, its high-speed rail, its solar-panel factories, and modern airports wowed American pundits — as if China offered a model of green modern authoritarianism that could supersede Neanderthal resistance to green central planners. A Chinese Carmel or Upper West Side was always proverbially right around the corner.

Just as it had been awed by Western money and technology, surely China would be even more wowed by Western magnanimity and so reciprocate by mimicking Western political and cultural institutions.

That fantasy has dissipated as Donald Trump shattered its glass veneer. The vision of China as always on the cusp of consensual government was always about as accurate as the old American dreams that the more powerful imperial Japan became in the early 20th century, the more apt Tokyo would be to assume a role as a sober and judicious Westernized protector of global norms. Again, ahistorical groupthink, fueled by globalist nonsense, simply ignored Chinese history and culture.

 Victor Davis Hanson writes.

South China Sea: Indonesia And Vietnam Prove Duterte Wrong

...standing up to China doesn’t lead to war.

UPDATE:  Indonesian navy fires shots, seizes Chinese fishing boat near disputed South China Sea

"Manila's threat to escalate isn't bluster. A multilateral alternative backed by a reinvigorated great power now challenges Beijing's bilateral bullying."

During a March 1 conference in Manila, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sketched Washington's view of Beijing's bullying, saying, "the Philippines depends on free and unobstructed access to the seas. China's island-building and military activities in the South China Sea threaten your sovereignty, security and, therefore, economic livelihood, as well as that of the U.S. ... Any armed attack on Philippine forces, aircraft or public vessels in the South China Sea will trigger mutual defense obligations under Article IV of our Mutual Defense Treaty."

Pompeo didn't speak rashly. He based his statement on a 68-year-old treaty signed when Harry Truman was president and Donald Trump was 5 years old.

Austin Bay writes.

Duterte Should Cancel His Trip To China To Protest Chinese Intrusion Into PHL Waters

 He should. Enough is enough. Otso Diretso should pressure him to cancel the trip.

Teddy Boy Locsin has been talking tough recently: DFA chief not afraid of war, says China took what is our 

The U.S.Warship Enters South China Sea with Abnormal Number of Fighter Jets in a show of force.

And after sending troops to Venezuela to bolster Maduro, Russian warships visits PHL too!

Here comes Russia, the disruptor. The West Philippine Sea is crowded enough. Over 200 Chinese ships infest it, now Duterte welcomes Russia. Every drug lord needs protectors.

Russian warships arrive in the Philippines amid rising South China Sea tensions https://t.co/f914fRi8lx

— Leah Navarro (@leahnavarro) April 9, 2019

West PH Sea: China took what is ours – Locsin

The stand is that it is ours. And they took it. World's highest court ruled that. Period. Now the question is how to take it back. I personally have no fear of war. One attack on a public vessel triggers World War 3 with the USofA which is impervious to attack from Asia. https://t.co/nOtzpgw7Jr

— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) April 9, 2019

From the Inquirer:

 The West Philippine Sea is “ours” and China “took it,” Foreign Affairs Teodoro Locsin Jr. said on Wednesday.

“The stand is that it is ours. And they took it. World’s highest court ruled that. Period,” Locsin tweeted in response to a Twitter user who asked for the Department of Foreign Affairs’ (DFA) stand amid the alleged invasion of China in the West Philippine Sea.

Locsin was referring to the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) which favored the Philippines after it filed a case challenging China’s sweeping claims of nearly the entire South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea.

The country’s top diplomat further said that it was now a matter of figuring out “how to take it back.”

“Now the question is how to take it back. I personally have no fear of war. One attack on a public vessel triggers World War 3 with the USofA which is impervious to attack from Asia,” he added.

Somebody should tell Duterte to tell Xi Jinping that when he visits China this month.

Richard Heydarian: Is China our ‘friend’?

From the Inquirer Opinion:

And this brings us to the almost existential question we face as a nation today: Is China our “friend”? And, accordingly, has President Duterte’s Beijing-friendly policies worked in favor of our national interest?

Since the beginning of this year, an armada of Chinese paramilitary vessels has swarmed Pag-asa Island (Thitu), which has hosted Filipino troops and civilians for more than four decades.

In many ways, this is increasingly looking like Mr. Duterte’s own version of the Scarborough Shoal crisis, except on a far worse scale.

There have been as many as 657 sightings of, and 275 individual Chinese vessels involved, in what increasingly looks like an all-out siege on Pag-asa. This is a classic Chinese “gray zone” strategy aimed at displacing other claimant states through deployment of ostensibly “fishing” vessels instead of using warships.

The armada of Chinese vessels hits four birds with one stone (or rather 275 vessels).

First, it restricts our movements in the area, including our fishermen. Second, it threatens and intimidates our supply lines and surveillance activities. Third, it spies and monitors our maintenance activities on Pag-asa. And lastly, it prevents us from building structures on Sandy Cay, a low-tide elevation within the territorial sea of Pag-asa.

Having built giant artificial islands (likely using our own soil) and fully militarized them with state-of-the-art weapons, China ultimately wants to dominate the whole South China Sea without firing a single shot. And the deployment of paramilitary forces is crucial to the fulfillment of this objective.

And yet, Mr. Duterte insists that China is a “friend,” an ally crucial for our national development goals.

 He's acting like a puppet!

In fact, the first time I heard this line from him was during a 2016 interview with China’s CCTV (Now CGTN) channel, where a reporter interviewed Mr. Duterte, Sen. Grace Poe and me on the future of Philippine-China relations after the 2016 elections.

In the video, you see a completely different Mr. Duterte. No trace of his brash, and almost crass, political lexicon. Far from an overexcited and tough-talking populist, essentially the image he has projected before much of the world over the years, what you instead see is a sober and contemplative leader.

I’ve noticed that this is the President Duterte one sees every time he visits China, a country he is set to visit for the fourth time in less than three years. During the interview, the former city mayor not only described China as a developmental partner, but also expressed a defeatist view on the South China Sea disputes.

Just months before the arbitral tribunal verdict on the South China Sea disputes came out, Mr. Duterte told the Chinese news channel: “If we cannot enforce [it], and if the United Nations cannot enforce its judgment, then what the heck?”

The message to Beijing was clear: I am willing to work with you and look at avenues of cooperation almost irrespective of the disputes in the West Philippine Sea.

Sensing our defeatism, however, China has only accelerated what former president Fidel Ramos described to me as the “creeping invasion” of the West Philippine Sea. This is why, as former ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales said, “You are stupid if you don’t assert your rights.”

Treason, right?

Basurang Tsina Music Video

Rappler: 5 ways Duterte made good on his pivot to China

As Chinese President Xi Jinping visits Manila, Rappler takes a look at how Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's 'pivot' to China has materialize

 

Duterte: China’s Xi Jinping threatened war if Philippines drills for oil in the South China Sea

From the CNNPhilippines:

 President Rodrigo Duterte said Friday that his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping, had warned of war if the Philippines started to drill for oil in the contested South China Sea.

“He told me, ‘We do not want to quarrel with you. We would want to maintain the present warm relationship. But if you force the issue, we will go to war’,” Duterte said, quoting Xi in one of their recent exchanges.

Duterte said during the Philippine Coastguard Auxiliary National Convention in Davao City that Xi had insisted on the Asian giant’s centuries-old claim to the vast South China Sea as against a recent tribunal ruling.

Duterte to China: "America has lost now...with that, in this venue, your honors, in this venue, I announce my separation from the United States. I have separated from them. So I will be dependent on you for all time. But do not worry. We will also help as you help us."

He made this announcement late October 2016 in Beijing after trashing Obama:

As President Rodrigo Duterte announced his "separation" from the United States and sought to strengthen ties with China, he said he will also talk to Russia's Vladimir Putin.

"I've realigned myself in your [China] ideological flow and maybe I will also go to Russia to talk to (President Vladimir) Putin and tell him that there are three of us against the world - China, Philippines and Russia. It's the only way," he said.

Duterte made his comments in China, where he is visiting with at least 200 business people to pave the way for what he calls a new commercial alliance as relations with longtime ally the United States deteriorate.

• READ: While in China, Duterte announces 'separation' from US

Duterte's efforts to engage China, months after a tribunal ruling in the Hague over South China Sea disputes in favor of the Philippines, marks a reversal in foreign policy since the 71-year-old former mayor took office on June 30.

"America has lost now," Duterte told Chinese and Philippine business people at a forum in the Great Hall of the People, attended by Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli.

"With that, in this venue, your honors, in this venue, I announce my separation from the United States," Duterte said to applause. "I have separated from them. So I will be dependent on you for all time. But do not worry. We will also help as you help us."

Duterte: "I would say, I need China more than anybody else at this time of our national life. I need China.... I Simply Love Xi Jinping."

Back in April 2018:

MANILA, Philippines – Before departing for China to attend the Boao Forum for Asia, President Rodrigo Duterte declared he "needs" Beijing to back his administration's priority programs.

"I would say, I need China more than anybody else at this time of our national life. I need China. I will not say something which is not good," he said on Monday, April 9....

Duterte even asked a Chinese reporter at the Monday press conference to relay warm words to Xi.

"I just simply love Xi Jinping. He understands my problem and is willing to help. I'd like to say, thank you China. Please carry the message," he said....

Not bringing up reclamation

 Asked by a Filipino reporter if he would raise reclamation activities in Scarborough Shoal in the West Philippine Sea with China's leaders, Duterte said he would not.

"No, I will just thank them and say thank you for issuing that statement. It's a word of honor for us," he said, referring to China's assurance to him that Beijing will not conduct reclamation in any other feature in the West Philippine Sea.

 From Rappler.