Perfecto Yasai
The Minister of foreign Affairs of the Philippines expressed concerns that the territorial dispute with China will be resolved soon. About it reports Reuters.
“I personally do not believe that this problem will soon be resolved, — explained Perfecto Yasai. — We may not live to see the moment she is settled. Grounds for optimism, given all of the information that I have not, but about the war and the speech can’t be”.
The Yasai upheld the decision of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte not to put pressure on Beijing to force him to enforce decisions of international arbitration that awarded the disputed Islands of the Filipinos. According to the Minister, the situation is deadlocked, and the best solution would be to focus on cooperation with China for mutually beneficial projects.
In January 2013, Manila filed a lawsuit in the international court of justice with a request to invalidate the line “nine dashes,” which, according to Beijing, assigns its rights in the disputed territory. China refused to participate in the proceedings. On 12 July the court held that China has “historical rights” to the Islands in the South China sea and actually violates the rights of the Philippines. Beijing has refused to execute the court decision.
The President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte nonetheless stated that it would continue the policy of rapprochement with China. In October 2016 during the visit, Duterte to China, Beijing promised Manila to provide investments in the amount of $ 15 billion.