PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte denied trading the West Philippine Sea for the China-made vaccines, even as he claimed that it was his personal wish to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for help in securing COVID-19 shots, which the Chinese Prime Minister allegedly gave without any strings attached with it.
“Sabi ko, ‘Mr. President, I would like to ask for your help. Until now, the Philippines is really at a loss on how to get the vaccines,” Duterte said in his most recent national address.
“Sabi niya, ‘It’s okay, we will help you.’ Ganoon lang… Hindi naman sinabi kalimutan mo iyong Scarborough Shoal.”
Scarborough Shoal is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, and has long been traditional fishing grounds for Filipino fishermen. But after a standoff with the Philippine Navy in 2012, China seized control of the shoal, which prompted the previous administration of Benigno Aquino III to pursue an arbitral complaint.
When Duterte won the presidency in 2016, an international arbitration court junked China’s claim to about 90 percent of the South China Sea – including a maritime region well within the Philippine exclusive economic zone. He, however, didn’t force China to recognize the ruling in view of China’s promises to lend money and infuse big-time investments in the country.
“It is never, never wrong to say that I owe you a debt of gratitude. Totoo eh. Binigyan tayo, tinanggap natin, ginamit natin. But it does not mean na tanggapin ko ang bakuna, tapos sabihin ko kalimutan ko na iyong claim d’yan sa West Philippine Sea… it is never like that. The world never operates like that,” added the President who reiterated on the government’s claim.
“Alam ng China ‘yan. Maski bahaan tayo dito ng vaccine, gagamitin ko pa rin, pero sasabihin ko hindi ito iyong kabayaran. Iba ito. This is Philippine national interest.”