Malacañang refuted on Monday the assertions of a maritime expert that the Philippines was giving “too much, too early, too soon” in dealing with China. “The Duterte administration has certainly not given up too much, too early, too soon in its relation with China nor China has gained more than us,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a Palace briefing. ADVERTISEMENTREAD: PH giving China ‘too much, too early, too soon’, says UP profIn a press conference last Saturday, Batongbacal also said: “China is gaining too much from our softness on these issues.”But Roque rejected such claims. Roque, an international law expert, said that the Philippine government would continue to defend the country’s sovereign rights in the disputed South China Sea while patching-up Manila’s strained relations with Beijing. China has refused to recognize the United Nations (UN) arbitral ruling in July 2012, which invalidated Beijing’s sweeping claims over almost all of the South China Sea.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer February 19, 2018 07:07 UTC