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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 15) Washington respects President Rodrigo Duterte’s refusal to follow the US move to sanction Chinese companies involved in the construction and militarization of artificial islands in the disputed South China Sea, a US official said Tuesday.
“The president is free to decide what he wants. And we only ask that those decisions be made in a way that supports Philippine sovereignty,” David Stilwell, deputy secretary of state for the Office of East Asian Affairs and the Peaceful. instructions.
Duterte’s spokesman previously said that Manila will not stop infrastructure projects involving blacklisted Chinese companies, insisting that the government will act in its own interests and not those of a foreign power.
READ: PH will honor contracts with Chinese companies despite US blacklist – Palace
“The sovereign decisions of the Philippine government are theirs and they are not going to see the United States get involved,” Stilwell said.
But at the same time, he noted that Washington “fully supports” Manila’s “consistent” actions against Beijing’s expansive claims over the South China Sea, including the 2013 arbitration case and its continued “insistence on the sovereignty of (its) economic exclusion zones “. “
“And (the) cooperation between the United States and the Philippines continues, and it is going quite well,” Stilwell added.
Stilwell’s remarks came just days after Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe concluded a tour of four member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), with Manila on its final leg of the tour.
Aside from the Philippines, Wei also visited Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei, but skipped Vietnam. They are all contending states against China’s grand claims on the South China Sea.
Wei’s regional visit was seen as countering US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s call for ASEAN allies to reject “most” of China’s maritime claims in the disputed territory, calling them aggressive. Beijing’s “completely illegal” claims.
LEE: US declares illegal ‘most’ of China’s maritime claims in the South China Sea
When asked to comment that Wei’s ASEAN tour was aimed at strengthening defense ties with the claimant countries that will invariably include joint military training and exchange visits with Beijing, Stilwell said the United States sees nothing wrong with that. “If that cooperation brings (regional) stability and brings positive results.”
“But (China’s) record is not good, and again, we can give you many examples of where those sovereign decisions have not been respected. Vietnam is a great place to start,” Stilwell said.
He added that Beijing’s “intimidating behavior” in the South China Sea is “forcing the choice” of other claimants from the South China Sea on which superpower to cooperate and work with.
“I don’t think the United States has ever forced an election. However, we insist that countries be allowed to choose their own sovereignty, things that allow them to continue in whatever way they see fit,” Stilwell said.
While the United States does not claim any part of the South China Sea, it conducts freedom of navigation operations and calls on Beijing for militarizing the disputed region.
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