Iginiit ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte sa kanyang huling SONA, ika-26 ng Hulyo 2021 na walang laban ang Pilipinas kontra sa China kung sakaling maging agresibo sa usapin ng karapatan ng bansa sa West Philippine Sea (WPS).
“Do you want war against China? Well, I’ll tell you even on the coast, [the] beach of Palawan, before you can take off, the missile of China will be there in about 5 to 10 minutes. It will be a massacre if I go on fight to war now. We are not yet a competent and able enemy on the other side,” pahayag ng Pangulo.
Kasabay nito ay pinasaringan ni Duterte ang US at mga kritikong kababayan na tinawag niyang ‘brilliant’ Filipinos.
“Well but, ito ngayon, there is arbitral ruling, you know, I don’t want to insult these people [who] pushing me for something more than what I can handle,” ayon sa Pangulo.
Una dito ay sinabi ni Duterte na walang nangyaring arbitration sa pagitan ng Pilipinas at China.
“What will I do with a document that does not bind China because they were never a part of that arbitration? There was really no arbitration at all because it was only the Philippines side who was heard.”
Inulan naman ng batikos mula sa mga kritiko at protestante ang naging pahayag na ito ng Pangulo sa kanyang SONA.
“This worn-out narrative is Duterte’s excuse to justify his cowardice and deliberate neglect to uphold our national sovereignty and territorial rights. Fishers and patriotic sectors have been saying this from the very start: nobody wants to have a war against China or any foreign countries. What we have been asserting since day one is a decisive assertion stemmed from a strong political will of our exclusive rights in our exclusive economic zone,” ayon sa grupong PAMALAKAYA.
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