President Duterte has declared that he still trusts China even though some Filipinos continue to distrust the Asian neighbor amid a lingering territorial conflict.
The President asserted that he believes China’s assurance that it would not wage war over the dispute in the West Philippine Sea.
“This is not a brief for China. Wala man tayong issues to worry about going to war with China,” he said during an interview with reporters in Malacañang Thursday. “China has talked to us, through me. Kulang pa ang Pilipino ng trust but I trust them. I take their word for it,” he added.
Duterte also said he would not go to war with China since the country’s military might has no match for Beijing’s defense forces. He was also concerned that a full-blown war would only cost the lives of Filipino troops.
“If I’m going to war with China even and the main complaint would be ‘yung diyan sa Spratly. Kung mag-giyera tayo, in one hour tapos ang ating Armed Forces,” he said. “And their jets can arrive here in seven minutes. I do not have that capability. I cannot fight China because I do not have the armaments,” he added.
In a survey conducted last September, 54 percent of Filipinos had little trust in China while 21 percent said they had much trust in China. It resulted in “poor” net trust of -33, down by nine points from the “bad” -24 rating in June 2019.
The President has previously ruled out the use of force in resolving the territorial dispute with China to avoid putting the lives of Filipinos in danger.
Instead, the Duterte administration has pursued bilateral dialogue to manage the conflict while pursuing closer economic and security ties with the Asian giant. (Genalyn Kabiling)
