President Duterte yesterday revealed that he confronted US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim about America’s alleged inaction on the South China Sea.
Duterte said that had America really wanted to avoid trouble early on, they could have acted on the dispute once aerial photos of China’s constructions were published.
“Pinakita na sa newspapers that there was something brewing, as if a runway was being built, and there are some concrete buildings on the coastal side,” he said during his speech in Soccoro, Oriental Mindoro.
“Why did you not send the armada of the Seventh Fleet which are stationed there in the Pacific to just make a U-turn and go there and tell them right on their face to stop it,” Duterte recalled.
Duterte also said that he reminded Kim of the set of laws that prohibits the construction of man-made structures in the high seas.
The President said that Kim’s only response was the South China Sea was not part of his assignment at the time and that his assignment was regarding North Korean President Kim Jong Un, whom Duterte referred to as “isa pang sira-ulo.” (Argyll Cyrus B. Geducos)