PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – Senator and incoming Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano assured the bilateral talks between the Philippines and China over both country’s claims on the South China Sea will start this month.
Critics of the Duterte administration have said the President is losing leverage with China over the dispute in the South China Sea because of too much engagement in terms of economic benefits.
According to Cayetano, the previous administrations have focused on not letting China move forward and on protecting the Philippines’ claims on the disputed waters but seem to have forgotten the country’s overall relationship with the Asian giant which includes economic diplomacy. (Argyll Cyrus B. Geducos)