FORMER President Rodrigo Duterte’s warm relations with Beijing can be a direct line that could ease tension in the West Philippine Sea such as a stop to Chinese harassment of Filipinos peacefully fishing in the area, Deputy Speaker Ralph Recto said.
In diplomacy, the backchannel can be as valuable as the official channel in “promoting the national interest,” Recto said.
The former president, he said, can fill a vacuum in the country’s relationship with China, which has been frayed by territorial disputes, yet remains a strong trading partner.
“Hindi pwedeng sa Amerikano lang tayo nakikipag-usap. Kausapin natin lahat, kahit doon sa katampuhan natin. Di ba ‘friend to all, enemy to no one’ naman tayo?“ he said.
“Kahit doon sa umaapi sa atin, hindi natin pwedeng dedmahin,”Recto said.
But Recto said it would have been better if Xi had told Duterte during their meeting that he had ordered a stop to the Chinese blockade of Filipino boats in the West Philippine Sea.
“Xi could have thanked PRRD for his visit with the grand gesture of deescalating the tension in that area,“ he said.
Recto believes that Duterte, in meeting foreign leaders, will always “champion Philippine interests.”
Any attempt to portray him otherwise is “unfair and without basis,” Recto said. “Sugo sya ng bayan, not the other way around.”
Recto said Duterte’s “good relations with Xi should be leveraged to achieve something good for our country.“
“Eh kung dahil sa kanya mapapayagan ang ating mangingisda na pumalaot uli doon or magkaroon ng breakhtough sa oil exploration, then that will bring fish to our table and electricity to our homes,” he said.
He said Duterte did not breach protocol when he met Chinese premier Xi Jinping in Beijing this week.
“This is not the first time a former president has been officially received abroad. Even in their retirement, Presidents Ramos and Arroyo got red carpet treatment from foreign leaders,” he said.
