By Helen Flores
BUSAN – The Duterte administration would rather endure criticisms of being too soft on China than sacrifice its push for a peaceful resolution of competing claims over the South China Sea, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said yesterday.
“We can continue to fight for our rights without armed conflict or without escalating the arguments. So every now and then there are irritants and there are real issues and we’re taking the diplomatic action, but it doesn’t mean that we confront each other in front of the media each and every time because it doesn’t create the atmosphere of dialogue, but it also doesn’t mean that the government is giving up our rights or is not fighting for it,” Cayetano told The STAR.
Cayetano attended the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC) meeting held at Nurimaru APEC House here.
The secretary maintained the administration is not changing its strategy on the South China Sea disputes, which he claimed is already “bearing fruits.”
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