President Rodrigo Duterte said that he would never get to ride on a jet ski to the disputed waters in Scarborough Shoal, just like what he announced during one of the presidential debates.
During his interview with Al Jazeera aired this weekend, Duterte said that his earlier ‘jet ski’ statement was a hyperbole to show that the Philippines would not give up anything in the West Philippine Sea.
“It was a hyperbole… You cannot expect me to ride (a jet ski), I don’t even know how to swim,” Duterte said after he was asked when he would deliver this campaign proclamation to get on a jet ski to Scarborough and plant the Philippine flag there.
He added that if the jet ski overturns, the Filipinos would “lose a president.”
Asked why he made that comment during the debate, Duterte said: “It was a hyperbole to stress a point that we will not, we will not give up anything there.”
[ads1]
He further emphasized that nobody is giving up anything.
Duterte also said that he will not give up the country’s claims and the Hague ruling that granted the Philippines the right over the West Philippine Sea.
“Nobody in the constitution allows anybody to give it up. Even the President cannot give it up. Those are our entitlements,” Duterte said of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) now granted to the Philippines under the United Nations Conventions on the Law of the Sea.
Duterte said that while the country is not giving up on Scarborough, he is willing to negotiate to “prevent war,” adding that the Philippines cannot afford to go to war.
He also said that he has two options – to “go into a rage” because of the Chinese occupation over the area or to talk.
“What do you think will happen to my country if I choose to go to war? I fight alone or I will call upon the other countries to help me. Who? Who will die for my country except us?” Duterte said.
In his interview with China’s official news agency Xinhua, as published on Monday, October 17, Duterte said that he preferred negotiation over confrontation with China on the topic of maritime dispute.
“There is no sense in going to war. There is no sense fighting over a body of water,” Duterte said.
Sources: (gmanetwork.com, news.abs-cbn.com)
[ads3]
