Manalo echoed the statement of President Duterte to maintain “diplomatic and peaceful settlement of disputes” in the South China Sea. “We’ll be having a chance to talk to China face-to-face on the issue of the South China Sea. We agreed to establish a bilateral mechanism with China to discuss issues on South China Sea. Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, meanwhile, said that filing a protest in connection to the maritime dispute over the South China is part of the government’s strategy. ‘PH should not be bullied’A senator on Wednesday insisted that the Philippine government should not allow itself to be bullied by China and instead invoke the ruling of the international arbitral tribunal on the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) and file a formal protest.

Source: Manila Times March 22, 2017 16:30 UTC