Philippines confirms engagement with The Hague ruling
Manila will not dismiss the ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, the Netherlands, on the Philippines’ lawsuit against China, affirmed spokesman Martin Anadar of the Philippine President Palace on October 23.
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The announcement was made in reply to a statement by Senator Risa Hontiveros that the administration has shelved the tribunal’s decision.
President Duterte’s attempt to make a deal with China disregard to The Hague ruling was wrong, warned she.
She also branded Duterte’s asking for China’s approval to allow Filipino fishermen to catch in the Scarborough Shoal as “absurd”.
The same day, President Duterte expressed his hope that local fishermen will be able to return to the Scarborough Shoal in the East Sea in the next few days.
"Let us just wait for a few more days, maybe we could return to Scarborough Shoal," Duterte said in a speech in Tuguegarao city, north of the capital, where he helped deliver aid to victims of a recent typhoon.
It is not immediately clear if China has given an indication that it will lift its four-year blockage of the Shoal after the recent meeting between the two countries’ leaders.
President Duterte also talked about the possibility of Japan to participate in multilateral negotiation on East Sea, local media reported.
In another development, US Assistant Secretary of States for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel arrived in Philippines and had a meeting with the Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Perfecto Yasay, on October 24 amid worries over the status of ties between the two countries, with President Duterte’s announcement of “the Philippines’ separation from the US”.
