Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte before their bilateral meeting during the Belt and Road Forum, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, on May 15. REUTERS/Etienne Oliveau/Pool MANILA — The Philippines and China played down on Monday a warning by President Rodrigo Duterte that China would go to war if the Philippines drilled for oil in the disputed South China Sea.

The outspoken Philippine president has been facing criticism at home for being what some people see as too soft on China over a long-running territorial dispute.

Duterte met Chinese President Xi Jinping for talks in Beijing last week and later said Xi had warned him there would be war if the Philippines tried to search for oil in a disputed stretch of sea.

Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said that their meeting was frank and friendly and that the discussion was largely about preventing conflict, not threatening it.

"The conversation was very frank. There was mutual respect, there was mutual trust," Cayetano told reporters.

"The context was not threatening each other, that we will go to war. The context is how do we stabilize the region and how do we prevent conflict."

He added: "I will not contradict the president's words. I am just telling you ... my interpretation: There was no bullying or pushing around — it was not a threat."

Speaking in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying also sought to make light of Duterte's comments, noting he and Xi had agreed to "strengthen communication" on important bilateral issues.

China was willing to work with the Philippines to handle disputes peacefully, she told reporters.

Duterte made no mention of the issue during an unusually news briefing on Monday before he left for Russia.

Duterte's critics have made much of his refusal to push China to comply with a ruling last year by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, at the end of a case brought by the Philippines against China, which was largely in favor of the Philippines. China has never recognized the case.

The court said the Philippines had a sovereign right to access offshore oil and gas fields in its Exclusive Economic Zone.

Duterte's rivals have likened his refusal to insist that China abide by the ruling as akin to surrendering sovereignty.

Senate minority leader, Frank Drilon, said the government "should not allow our country to be bullied and threatened," while former foreign minister Albert del Rosario said Manila should do joint maritime patrols with traditional ally the United States, an idea he said Duterte had jettisoned as part of his "full embrace of China."

Duterte chafes at what he considers Philippine subservience to the US and has sought to engage more with China, which has promised loans and investment that will be vital to his ambitious $180 billion infrastructure overhaul.

Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio on Saturday urged the government to file another international arbitration case over the reported Chinese threat, and also lodge a complaint with the United Nations.

Failure to do that would mean Duterte would be "selling us out," he said.

Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said the Philippines was "very clear that we are not giving up our claim of sovereignty and sovereign rights."

(Reporting by Karen Lema and Martin Petty in Manila and Ben Blanchard in Beijing; Editing by Robert Birsel) </s> Former foreign secretary Albert del Rosario also says China 'has strongly declared that it is might that will trump what is right'

MANILA, Philippines – Supreme Court (SC) Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio urged the Philippine government on Saturday, May 20, to sue China for threatening war against the Philippines over the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) dispute.

In a statement, Carpio said the Philippines should run to another arbitral tribunal under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to protect the Philippines' exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

UNCLOS is the so-called Constitution for the Oceans while the EEZ is the 200-nautical mile area from a coastal state's baselines, within which the coastal state has the exclusive rights to explore and exploit resources.

Carpio wrote, "As a nation that under its Constitution has renounced war as an instrument of national policy, the Philippines' recourse is to bring China's threat of war to another UNCLOS arbitral tribunal, to secure an order directing China to comply with the ruling of the UNCLOS arbitral tribunal that declared the Reed Bank part of Philippine EEZ."

"The Philippines can also ask for damages for every day of delay that the Philippines is prevented by China from exploiting Philippine EEZ," he added.

Carpio is one of the staunchest advocates of the Philippines' claim over the West Philippine Sea. (READ: Why Carpio wants China to read his e-book)

Sought for clarification, Carpio explained that the Philippines "can sue" China because the Asian giant "is not complying with the previous ruling" issued by another arbitral tribunal.

This tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands, ruled in July 2016 to invalidate China's expansive claim over the South China Sea, but China has refused to comply with this ruling.

Carpio made his remarks after Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday, May 19, said Chinese President Xi Jinping warned that China will go to war if the Philippines "forces the issue" of the arbitral ruling on the South China Sea.

Duterte quoted Xi as saying: "Well, we are friends. We do not want to quarrel with you. We would want to maintain the present warm relationship. But if you force the issue, we will go to war."

Reacting to China's threat, Carpio also said on Saturday that the Philippines can also run to the United Nations (UN) as another option.

Carpio said, "The Philippines can also bring China's threat to go to war against the Philippines before the United Nations General Assembly by sponsoring a resolution condemning China's threat of war against the Philippines and demanding that China comply with the ruling of the UNCLOS arbitral tribunal."

He pointed out that China has no veto power in the UN General Assembly.

He added that Duterte "cannot simply do nothing, or worse acquiesce to China's action, for inaction is the opposite of protecting Philippine EEZ."

"Acquiescence means the Philippines will lose forever its EEZ in the West Philippine Sea to China," Carpio said.

He added that China is the only country that "has threatened the Philippines with war over Philippine EEZ in the West Philippine Sea."

"China's threat of war against the Philippines over the West Philippine Sea reveals the aggressive design of China against the Philippines," the justice said.

"This extremely troubling development calls for all Filipinos to unite to defend the West Philippine Sea in accordance with the Constitution, international law, and UNCLOS," he added.

Former foreign secretary Albert del Rosario also weighed in on the issue, saying on Saturday: "Contrary to our position that right is might, China has strongly declared that it is might that will trump what is right."

Del Rosario said that "China – unless it stands to benefit – does not intend to respect the rule of law."

Malacañang, on the other hand, reacted to a reported statement by Carpio that Duterte effectively gave the "green light" to China's island building activities in the West Philippine Sea by not mentioning it in the Chairman's Statement of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Manila.

"With all due respect to the Senior Associate Justice, Chinese island building and military deployment activities on certain features in the West Philippine Sea have been ongoing for some years now," Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella said.

"The disputes in the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea are not the sum total of our relations with China, but we are cognizant of the warmer relationships we have in the region," Abella added. – Rappler.com </s> The Philippines’ top diplomat has sought to downplay President Rodrigo Duterte’s pronouncement that Chinese President Xi Jinping told him China would go to war with Manila if it insists on drilling for oil in the disputed South China Sea, saying they were not threatening each other but talking about preventing conflict.

Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said the talks were frank and friendly, with no threats or bullying, but would not disclose more details of the Beijing meeting Duterte and Xi, adding that they had the kind of relationship in which they could openly discuss preventing maritime conflict.

The notoriously outspoken Duterte said during a televised speech on Friday that Xi warned him there would be war if he tried to explore for oil in a stretch of the sea that both countries claim. China has yet to respond to Duterte revealing contents of the meeting.

“The conversation was very frank. There was mutual respect, there was mutual trust,” Cayetano told reporters.

“The context was not threatening each other, that we will go to war. The context is how do we stabilize the region and how do we prevent conflict.”

The maverick Duterte has faced criticism at home for refusing to push China to comply with an award last year by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which ruled largely in favor of the Philippines.

It also said the Philippines had a sovereign right to access offshore oil and gas fields in its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), including the Reed Bank.

Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have claims to sovereignty in the South China Sea, a vital conduit for trade and a hotbed of territorial squabbling that has stoked nationalist fervor in some countries. “I will not contradict the president’s words. I am just telling you…my interpretation: there was no bullying or pushing around, it was not a threat,” Cayetano added. “It was more the threat of conflict will always be there if we don’t have dialogue.”

A Philippine Supreme Court judge on Saturday urged the government to file another international arbitration case over the alleged Chinese threat, and also lodge a complaint with the United Nations.

Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said failure to do that would mean Duterte would be “selling us out” and forfeiting sovereignty to secure Chinese loans and investments needed for his ambitious $180 billion infrastructure program.

Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella on Monday said the Philippines was “very clear that we are not giving up our claim of sovereignty and sovereign rights.”

Duterte was to fly to Russia on Monday to meet his hero, seek arms and steer his nation’s foreign policy course further away from longtime ally the United States.

The five-day trip will cement a dramatic improvement in ties between the two nations since Duterte came to power last year and began unraveling the Philippines’ decades-long alliance with the United States, which he accuses of hypocrisy and bullying.

Duterte will on Thursday meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he has described as his “favorite hero” and proclaimed a personal bond because of mutual passions such as guns and hunting.

Duterte said Friday one of the top priorities of his trip was to secure Russian precision-guided bombs to use on Islamic militants in the southern Philippines.

“If they can spare us with the precision guided (bombs),” Duterte said when discussing the purpose of his trip.

“We have so many smart bombs but not as accurate.”

Duterte’s seeking of weapons from Russia comes as he dials down cooperation with the United States, the Philippines’ former colonial ruler that has for decades been its most important military ally and protector.

He has scaled down the number and scope of annual military exercises with the U.S., barred Filipino forces from joint patrols in the disputed South China Sea, and called for the withdrawal of American troops from the Philippines.

The shift occurred as China has become more assertive in challenging U.S. might in the region by expanding its presence in the South China Sea, which it claims almost in its entirety.

Despite China’s expansionism extending into areas of the sea claimed by the Philippines, Duterte has been determined to pivot his nation’s foreign policy away from the United States in favor of Beijing and Moscow.

This has partly been due to China and Russia supporting or at least not criticizing his controversial war on drugs, which has left thousands of people dead and led to warnings by rights groups that Duterte may be orchestrating a crime against humanity.

Duterte has railed against the United States, particularly when Barack Obama was president, for criticizing the drug war.

On a state visit to China last year, Duterte announced the Philippines’ “separation” from the United States.

“I’ve realigned myself in your ideological flow and maybe I will also go to Russia to talk to Putin and tell him that there are three of us against the world — China, Philippines and Russia. It’s the only way,” he said in Beijing.

Duterte, who describes himself as a socialist, and Putin first met on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit in Peru last November.

“Historically, I have been identified with the Western world. It was good until it lasted. And of late, I see a lot of these Western nations bullying small nations,” Duterte told Putin then.

Since then, two Russian Navy flotillas have visited Manila.

“The Russians are with me, I shall not be afraid,” Duterte said while touring the Russian Navy’s guided missile cruiser Varyag during a port visit to Manila last month.

The Philippines and Russia established diplomatic ties 41 years ago but, until Duterte took office, relations remained relatively low key.

This was partly due to the Philippines’ alliance with the United States.

Philippine-Russian trade last year totaled just $226 million, according to government data. Philippine-U.S. trade was worth more than $18 billion last year.

Relations remain at the “nascent stage”, but this will change, assistant Philippine foreign secretary Maria Cleofe Natividad told reporters in a briefing on Duterte’s trip to Russia.

“We consider this visit as a landmark that will send a strong message of the Philippines’ commitment to seek new partnerships and strengthen relations with non-traditional partners,” she said.

Duterte visiting Moscow will be a “propaganda victory for Putin and a soft-power coup for Russia,” said Richard Javad Heydarian, a foreign policy analyst in Manila.

“It will be their way of poking the eye of America.” </s> VIENTIANE, Laos — The Philippine government today released what it says are surveillance pictures of Chinese coast guard ships and barges at a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, in an apparent diplomatic gambit to publicize its concerns at a regional summit being attended by China's premier and Southeast Asian leaders.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte plans to ask Premier Li Keqiang at the summit in the Laotian capital whether the vessels were on another island-making mission on the Scarborough Shoal. China has built seven such islands in the disputed, resource-rich sea, alarming neighbors and rival claimants.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that China hadn't done anything to alter the circumstances in the waters surrounding the shoal.

"What I can tell you is that the situation in waters near Huangyan Island remains unchanged and China hasn't made any new moves," Hua said in Beijing, using the shoal's Chinese name. "We should be highly alert against the mischief-making intentions of people who spread such groundless information in such situations."

Asked how disturbed the Philippines was by the presence of the Chinese ships, Duterte's spokesman Ernesto Abella told a news conference: "Enough to announce it."

He said that China and the Philippines were discussing the issue, but gave no details.

"There are talks at this stage," Abella said. He refused to comment if the Philippine policy was to prevent any country from constructing at or transforming Scarborough, a coral reef, into an island.

If the Chinese government confirms the photos, the Philippines will lodge an official protest, said Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.

Duterte has taken a more reconciliatory track to rebuild relations with China ad has said he would not raise the long-simmering territorial disputes in an adversarial manner that might upset Beijing.

Relations were severely strained under Duterte's predecessor because of the conflict.

However, Duterte expressed alarm after a Philippine surveillance plane recently spotted four Chinese coast guard ships, four suspected barges, including one equipped with what appeared to be a crane. The government released the photos with a diagram showing the vessels' exact locations at the shoal, which the Chinese coast guard seized after a tense standoff with Philippine vessels in 2012.

Hours after the Philippines released the pictures, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations met with Li and his aides. The South China Sea dispute was tackled at the closed-door meeting with some of the leaders, including Duterte, who reiterated calls for the conflicts to be resolved peacefully and in accordance with international law, Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said.

He quoted the Chinese premier as saying that there was now a "positive direction" in Beijing's relations with ASEAN and that the disputes should not affect overall relations.

The U.S. military has also expressed concerns over the possibility that China might turn Scarborough into another island, something that would give Beijing's forces control over a swath of the South China Sea used as a passageway to the Taiwan Strait.

China claims virtually the entire South China Sea as its own, citing historical reasons. It has rejected a July 12 international arbitration ruling that called its claims illegal. The tribunal ruling also rebuked China for its land reclamation activities. </s> The Philippine government Wednesday released what it says are surveillance pictures of Chinese coast guard ships and barges at a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, in an apparent diplomatic gambit to publicize its concerns at a regional summit being attended by China's premier and Southeast Asian leaders.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte plans to ask Premier Li Keqiang at the summit in the Laotian capital whether the vessels were on another island-making mission on the Scarborough Shoal. China has built seven such islands in the disputed, resource-rich sea, alarming neighbors and rival claimants.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that China hadn't done anything to alter the circumstances in the waters surrounding the shoal.

"What I can tell you is that the situation in waters near Huangyan Island remains unchanged and China hasn't made any new moves," Hua said in Beijing, using the shoal's Chinese name. "We should be highly alert against the mischief-making intentions of people who spread such groundless information in such situations."

Asked how disturbed the Philippines was by the presence of the Chinese ships, Duterte's spokesman Ernesto Abella told a news conference: "Enough to announce it."

He said that China and the Philippines were discussing the issue, but gave no details.

"There are talks at this stage," Abella said. He refused to comment if the Philippine policy was to prevent any country from constructing at or transforming Scarborough, a coral reef, into an island.

If the Chinese government confirms the photos, the Philippines will lodge an official protest, said Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.

Duterte has taken a more reconciliatory track to rebuild relations with China ad has said he would not raise the long-simmering territorial disputes in an adversarial manner that might upset Beijing.

Relations were severely strained under Duterte's predecessor because of the conflict.

However, Duterte expressed alarm after a Philippine surveillance plane recently spotted four Chinese coast guard ships, four suspected barges, including one equipped with what appeared to be a crane. The government released the photos with a diagram showing the vessels' exact locations at the shoal, which the Chinese coast guard seized after a tense standoff with Philippine vessels in 2012.

Hours after the Philippines released the pictures, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations met with Li and his aides. The South China Sea dispute was tackled at the closed-door meeting with some of the leaders, including Duterte, who reiterated calls for the conflicts to be resolved peacefully and in accordance with international law, Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said.

He quoted the Chinese premier as saying that there was now a "positive direction" in Beijing's relations with ASEAN and that the disputes should not affect overall relations.

The U.S. military has also expressed concerns over the possibility that China might turn Scarborough into another island, something that would give Beijing's forces control over a swath of the South China Sea used as a passageway to the Taiwan Strait.

China claims virtually the entire South China Sea as its own, citing historical reasons. It has rejected a July 12 international arbitration ruling that called its claims illegal. The tribunal ruling also rebuked China for its land reclamation activities. </s> VIENTIANE, Laos (AP) — The Philippine government on Wednesday released what it says are surveillance pictures of Chinese coast guard ships and barges at a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, in an apparent diplomatic gambit to publicize its concerns at a regional summit being attended by China’s premier and Southeast Asian leaders.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte plans to ask Premier Li Keqiang at the summit in the Laotian capital whether the vessels were on another island-making mission on the Scarborough Shoal. China has built many such islands in the disputed, resource-rich sea, much to the alarm of governments in the region.

If the Chinese government confirms the suspicion, the Philippines would lodge an official protest, according to Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana. China has not commented on the accusations.

Duterte has taken a more reconciliatory track to rebuild relations with the Asian economic powerhouse and has said he would not raise the long-simmering territorial disputes in the South China Sea in an adversarial manner that might upset the Chinese government.

Relations were severely strained under Duterte’s predecessor because of the conflict.

However, he expressed alarm after a Philippine surveillance plane recently spotted four Chinese coast guard ships, four suspected barges, including one equipped with what appeared to be a crane, and two people-carrying ferries at the Scarborough Shoal off his country’s northwestern coast.

Duterte’s government released surveillance photos of the Chinese ships and barges along with a diagram showing the vessels’ exact locations at the Scarborough Shoal, which the Chinese coast guard seized after a tense standoff with Philippine vessels in 2012.

Hours after the Philippines released the pictures, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, met with Li and his aides. The meeting was held behind closed doors and it is not immediately known if the South China Sea dispute was raised.

The U.S. military has also expressed concerns over the possibility that China might turn Scarborough into another island, something that would give Beijing’s forces control over a swathe of the South China Sea used as a passageway to the Taiwan Strait.

China claims the entire South China Sea as its own, citing historical reasons. It has rejected a July 12 international arbitration ruling that called its claims illegal. The tribunal ruling also rebuked China for its land reclamation activities in the resource-rich sea, where it has conflicting claims with Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei besides the Philippines.

All of the countries are members of the 10-nation ASEAN, which treads a delicate path with the emerging superpower. They benefit greatly from its powerful economy – China is now the biggest source of tourists to the region – but its growing might also poses challenges.

The issue of ownership of the South China Sea has come to dominate the annual ASEAN summit and the separate ASEAN-China summit in recent years. On Wednesday, the leaders of AESEAN and Li cut a cake before the beginning of the summit to celebrate 25 years of relations. </s> VIENTIANE, Sept 7 (Reuters) - The Philippines said on Wednesday it was "gravely concerned" that Chinese boats were preparing to build structures at a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, shattering an appearance of cordiality at an Asian summit in Laos.

Officials said talks between Southeast Asian leaders and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang went smoothly and there was no tension over a recent ruling by an arbitration court in The Hague that invalidated China's claims to the waterway.

But, hours before the meeting, the Philippines' defence ministry released photographs and a map showing what it said was an increased number of Chinese vessels near Scarborough Shoal, which China seized after a standoff in 2012.

The ministry's spokesman told reporters in Manila the pictures were made public because China's ambassador to the Philippines had denied there was any new activity there.

"We believed that this is precursor to possible building of structures on the shoal," spokesman Arsenio Andolong said, adding that China's denial was "even more disturbing".

China said there had been no change to the situation around the shoal and it had not taken any new action there.

"Given this situation, some people are hyping the situation by spreading that kind of information," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily briefing in Beijing.

China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei claim parts or all of the resource-rich South China Sea, making it a hot spot of regional tension. The last four are members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

China has over the past year alarmed other claimants, and outside powers such as the United States and Japan, by re-claiming land on several disputed reefs through dredging, and building air fields and port facilities.

A Philippines official said the release of the pictures and a map showing the ships' positions was ordered by the defence minister, who was at the ASEAN summit in Vientiane, Laos.

But there was no row over the issue at the summit.

"It seems that every country played down the level of conflict, therefore the tone of the meeting was quite friendly and emphasised peace and security within the region," said Major General Weerachon Sukhondhapatipak, a Thai government spokesman.

The Philippine concern about the shoal comes after a dispute with the United States, its main ally.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte criticised U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday, prompting the cancellation of a meeting between them in Laos.

China has repeatedly blamed the United States for stirring up trouble in the South China Sea, a strategic waterway through which more than $5 trillion of trade moves annually.

The United States says it has no position on the territorial disputes but wants to ensure freedom of navigation.

With that in mind, it has conducted patrols close to Chinese-held islands, to Beijing's anger, while China has been bolstering its military presence in the sea.

Although the Scarborough Shoal is merely a few rocks poking above the sea, it is important to the Philippines because of the fish stocks in the area. Manila says China's blockade of the shoal is a violation of international law.

The dispute has become more significant since the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in July that no country had sovereign rights over activity at Scarborough Shoal, a traditional fishing ground for Chinese, Filipino and Vietnamese. China has refused to recognise the ruling by the court in The Hague.

Duterte wants China to abide by the ruling but he had pledged not to raise the issue during the meeting in Laos.

Instead, he wants to smooth the way for bilateral negotiations and last month sent former President Fidel Ramos as his special envoy to meet Chinese representatives in Hong Kong.

A senior Chinese official said Beijing was confident it could return to a healthy relationship with the Philippines.

"In the past 30 years, the relationship has been very smooth, it's only in the past few years, because of some problems known to all, the relationship has been affected," vice foreign minister Liu Zhenmin said at the Laos summit.

A draft ASEAN communique seen by Reuters on Monday listed eight points related to the South China Sea, but made no mention of the arbitration ruling.

The bloc traditionally shies away from taking a position on thorny diplomatic issues, especially where China is concerned, because of its influence in the region.

Still, a Philippine security official travelling with Duterte said it was a challenge for the government to explain to fishermen why they could not return to the Scarborough Shoal area when The Hague had ruled it was a fishing ground for all.

"We won in the arbitral court, but we could not enforce it, how can we explain that to our own fishermen?" said the official, who declined to be identified.

"So, we wanted to talk to China and resolve the issue, but the situation like this is making it more difficult. The president is asking what is China's intentions in the area?" </s> Beijing: China today sidestepped claims by Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte that it had threatened to go to war over the disputed South China Sea.

Duterte, who met with Chinese president Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing last week, said on Friday the leaders had raised conflict as an option to resolving their competing claims to the waters.

"I really said it to their face. That is ours and we intend to drill oil there," said Duterte, who claimed he made the comments public in response to domestic criticism he was being too weak with China over the row.

"And they told me: 'Well, we're friends. We do not want to quarrel with you. We want to maintain the present warm relationship. But if you force the issue we'll go to war.'"

China's government today did not directly comment on Duterte's version of the leaders' conversation, but said it would "work with the Philippines to peacefully resolve disputes through friendly consultation".

China sought to "deepen cooperation in other fields so bilateral relations can move forward in a sound steady way and also contribute to regional peace stability," foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters.

The rival claims to the South China Sea, which is believed to sit atop vast oil and gas deposits, have for decades made it one of Asia's potential military flashpoints.

China claims most of the sea, a key waterway for global shipping, and has reclaimed disputed reefs and installed military facilities on them.

Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam and Taiwan also have overlapping claims.

An international tribunal ruled in July last year that China's claims to most of the sea were without legal basis, in a case filed by the Philippines under Duterte's predecessor, Benigno Aquino.

But China vowed to ignore the ruling and warned the Philippines against trying to use the verdict as leverage.

Duterte, who began his six-year term in June last year, agreed to take a soft stance with China, claiming that if he did it might lead to war.

Duterte has also sought closer ties with China to win billions of dollars of Chinese investments and loans, while loosening the Philippines' long-standing alliance with the US. </s> DAVAO (Sputnik) — If the Philippines engaged in a military conflict with China over the territorial dispute in the South China Sea, it would be a massacre, the Philippines' President Rodrigo Duterte said in his interview with Russian media.

"Do you expect me to fight China in a war? Do I have the cruise missiles for hitting them?" he said, adding that if the conflict happens, "it’s going to be a massacre."

In July 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague ruled upon the claim of the Philippines that China has no legal grounds for territorial claims in the South China Sea. China refused to recognize the court’s decision. </s> Philippines is not 'little brown brother' of U.S. -foreign minister

WASHINGTON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - The Philippines is firmly committed to its alliance with the United States but will not be lectured on human rights and treated like a "little brown brother," the country's Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay said on Thursday.

Speaking in Washington after recent remarks by the Philippines' outspoken new President Rodrigo Duterte that have strained relations with the United States, Manila's main ally, Yasay said some of Duterte's remarks had been misunderstood.

He said Duterte had explained that his call for the withdrawal of U.S. special forces from the southern Philippines was only a temporary measure to keep them out of harm's way while Philippine forces undertook an offensive against Abu Sayyaf militants.

Yasay also said Duterte's opposition to joint maritime patrols with the United States only concerned the Philippines' "exclusive economic zone", not joint patrols within 12 nautical miles.

The latter patrols, aimed at preserving the territorial integrity of the Philippines, "must continue because this is our commitment to the United States," Yasay said at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank.

The Philippines and the United States share concern about China's pursuit of broad territorial claims in the South China Sea, which overlap with the claims of Manila and other neighbors. Washington and Manila agreed earlier this year on joint patrols in the area.

The minister rejected criticism of Duterte's war on drugs, in which thousands have been killed, and said relations with Washington should be based on mutual respect.

"I am asking our American friends, American leaders, to look at our aspirations," he said. "We cannot forever be the little brown brothers of America. ... We have to develop, we have to grow and become the big brother of our own people.

"You (have to) manage it correctly. You do not go to the Philippines and say 'I am going to give you something; I am going to help you grow, but this is the check list you must comply with - we will lecture you on human rights'."

Yasay stressed that Duterte was "firmly committed to keep and respect alliances, including that with the United States."

He said Manila was "not at this point in time" prepared to sit down and discuss its territorial disputes with China bilaterally, given that the two sides differed on what the framework for any such discussions should be. (Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Editing by James Dalgleish)
The Philippines clarifies a controversial remark about a potential "war" with China amid criticism from Filipinos.