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Baste Duterte dismisses West Philippine Sea issue as 'propaganda'

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<p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">DAVAO CITY <strong>(UPDATED)</strong> — Davao City Mayor Baste Duterte played down the West Philippine Sea issue as just propaganda meant to drag the Philippines into a potential war between the US and China.</p><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/>Speaking at a political rally in Tagum City, Davao del Norte on Sunday, said the narrative favors the Americans and could bring the Philippines into a conflict that it has nothing to do with.<br/><br/>“Kana siya, propaganda ra na. Naratiba na nga himuon nga istorya aron pangitaan og bikil gyud sa mga Amerikano ang kanang lugara (West Philippine Sea) kay trade route man gud na sa China padulong sa Indian ug Atlantic Ocean. Gusto nila gubaon ning kuan. It’s not about you being pro-American, you being pro-China, ang di nato gusto diri nga mag-apil apil og away nga wala tay labot,” he said.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;min-height:15px"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">(That is just propaganda. It is just a narrative for the Americans to find fault in that area because it is a trade route of China to the Indian and Atlantic oceans. They just want to ruin… It’s not about you being pro-American, or you being pro-China. What we don’t want is to get involved in a conflict we have nothing to do with.)</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/3/27/journalists-slam-china-s-claim-of-manipulation-of-videos-of-aggression-in-west-ph-sea-2332">RELATED: Journalists slam China’s claim of ‘manipulation of videos’ of aggression in West PH Sea</a></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BJMVFFTtTSk?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., whose administration has been more open to the public about incidents in the West Philippine Sea, has said that insisting on Philippine rights in its waters is in its own interest. </p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;min-height:15px"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">“The Philippines firmly rejects misleading narratives that frame the disputes in the South China Sea solely through the lens of strategic competition between two powerful countries,” Marcos Jr. said at an Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Indonesia last September.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">“This not only denies us of our independence and our agency, but it also disregards our own legitimate interests,” he also said.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/06/23/marcos-seeks-asean-support-vs-hegemonic-ambitions-in-south-china-sea">READ: Marcos seeks ASEAN’s support to counter ‘hegemonic ambitions’ in South China Sea</a></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">The Philippine Coast Guard has reported harassment of Philippine resupply missions in the West Philippine Sea as well as <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/18/23/pcg-videos-show-damage-to-rozul-reef-escoda-shoal">damage to marine habitats, like coral reefs</a>, due to swarming by Chinese ships.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">In reaction to the Davao City mayor’s statement, a PCG official said Duterte’s statement lacks logic.<br/><br/>“He doesn’t make any logical argument. [West Philippine Sea] already decided by arbitral court,&quot; Commodore Jay Tarriela, coast guard spokesperson on the West Philippine Sea, said, referring to a 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidated China&#x27;s sweeping nine-dash line claim over the South China Sea.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">&quot;The mere fact that this has been decided in court [shows] uur problem in the [West Philippine Sea] already existing,&quot; he said.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">The Philippines filed the arbitral case, which China refused to participate in, after a standoff with Chinese vessels at Scarborough Shoal (Panatag, Bajo de Masinloc) in 2012.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"> </div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">Tarriela said the public should instead rely on journalists for transparent accounts regarding the West Philippine Sea.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/> </div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">“They can testify to what is happening in [the West Philippine Sea],” he added.</p><div><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">Activist groups, including the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, have protested Chinese actions in the West Philippine Sea but have also opposed an increased US presence in the Philippines, saying this could involve the country in the simmering rivalry between the US and China.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">There have been proposals to have Southeast Asian nations hold <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/23/23/joint-west-philippine-sea-patrols-urged-after-chinas-coercive-actions">joint patrols to keep the peace in the region, or to hold them with other &quot;like-minded states&quot; </a>aside from just the US.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/4/9/resistance-to-china-should-not-lead-to-militarization-of-west-ph-sea-group-1147">RELATED: Resistance to China should not lead to &#x27;militarization&#x27; of West PH Sea — group</a></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iFNvCrlvEmM?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><strong>&#x27;WE WILL ALL DIE&#x27;</strong></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">Mayor Duterte added that a potential war would mean a lot of money for the US, which he called “the biggest seller of armaments or weapons.”</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;min-height:15px"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">The mayor also warned that Filipinos would not stand a chance if the country gets caught in a conflict between the US and China. His father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, made similar arguments in the former administration’s engagements with Beijing.<br/><br/>“Kung karon, ayaw ingna kung moatras ang China, pasagdan lang pud ta nila nga kitay motungtong diha. Di man gyud. Kabalo mo, naratiba lang na. Away na between the Americans and the Chinese. Unya karon, ginabitbit, ginadamay ta. Ang nakapait diha pa gyud, kung magkanda-leche gyud tanan, unya pugson ta moadto og giyera by conscription, meaning compulsory ang imong enlistment nga mahimo tang sundalo. Patay tang tanan,” he said.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;min-height:15px"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">(Don’t tell me that if China withdraws from the West Philippine Sea, we will be allowed to put up structures there. It won’t happen. You know, that’s just a narrative. This is a fight between the Americans and the Chinese. And now, they are involving us. And what’s worse, if things go wrong and we are forced to go to war by conscription — meaning compulsory enlistment to be soldiers, we will all die.)</p>

<p>Davao City Mayor Baste Duterte played down the West Philippine Sea issue as just propaganda meant to drag the Philippines into a potential war between the US and China.</p>

Davao City Mayor Baste Duterte played down the West Philippine Sea issue as just propaganda meant to drag the Philippines into a potential war between the US and China.