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In this image taken from UNTV video, Rodrigo Roa Duterte, President of the Philippines, speaks in a prerecorded message that was played during the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly, on Tuesday, September 22, 2020, at the headquarters of the ONU. The UN’s first virtual meeting of world leaders began Tuesday with prerecorded speeches from some of the greatest powers on the planet, kept at home by the coronavirus pandemic that is likely to be a dominant theme at their video gathering this year. (UNTV via AP)
MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte has always been consistent in claiming the country’s referee victory in the South China Sea against China, Malacañang said Wednesday.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said that even before Duterte raised this with the United Nations General Assembly, the Philippines never changed its position on the arbitration award.
“We have never changed our position on the arbitration ruling. I have said it over and over again that there is nothing that can undermine that decision, it is evidence of common law. And the president is just being consistent, ”Roque said in an interview on CNN Philippines when asked why Duterte raised the issue with the UN.
“Well, this is the first time the president has spoken in the UN General Assembly ‘no. So it is the first time that the President was able to say what his constant position has been from the beginning, “he added.
Roque said the president would have said the same thing if he had spoken to the international body in previous years.
During his debut at the UN General Assembly, Duterte affirmed the 2016 ruling of the UN-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which invalidated China’s claim on the entire South China Sea, including the Philippine Sea. Western.
China has repeatedly refused to acknowledge this and has even continued its recovery and militarization activities in the hotly contested waters.
Regardless of the position of the two nations on the territorial dispute, Roque reiterated that it is not the sum of the Philippines’ bilateral relations with China.
“As I said, we will proceed with all other aspects of our relationship and we will probably accept the fact that there will be no resolution in the near future in regards to the territorial dispute, but we will proceed with matters that we could move forward with. with such as investment and trade ”, said Roque.
JPV
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