PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday said he would not stop China from building structures at the disputed Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, arguing that the country could not afford to go to war with its powerful neighbor. “We cannot stop China from doing this thing. In the meantime, just keep it open and don’t touch my coast guard,” Duterte told reporters at the Davao International Airport. That does not satisfy you?”He described the complaints against China as “nit-picking.”The Philippines under Duterte’s predecessor Benigno Aquino 3rd had actively challenged China’s claim to control most of the South China Sea, despite counter-claims by several other nations. Beijing has already reclaimed large areas around several islets and reefs in the Spratly archipelago elsewhere in the South China Sea, and installed military facilities on some of them.

Source: Manila Times March 19, 2017 18:00 UTC