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MANILA, Philippines – Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said the Philippines will not comply with China’s insistence to keep Western powers, including the United States, out of the South China Sea.
“China’s demand to exclude western powers from the South China Sea, which I will never allow,” Locsin said at a budget hearing in the House of Representatives on Monday (September 21). “Western powers must be present in the South China Sea as a balancer,” he told lawmakers.
China and some ASEAN countries, including the Philippines, have long-standing disputes over the South China Sea and have been negotiating a Code of Conduct.
Beijing, which claims ownership of most of the South China Sea, has accused the United States of interfering in efforts by China and Asean to resolve the disputes through consultations.
The United States has recently hardened its stance in the South China Sea and boosted its military deployment.
“I can swear to you that the Western powers will be in the South China Sea. We believe in the balance of power, that the freedom of the Filipino people depends on the balance of power in the South China Sea, ”Locsin said.
TSB
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