Philippines now wants to scrap joint sea patrol role

By Hader Glang

ZAMBOANGA CITY, the Philippines (AA) – Days after stating that his administration would adopt an autonomous foreign policy, the Philippines president has declared that he no longer wants the country to participate in joint sea patrols with other countries.

In a speech delivered at an air force base in Manila on Tuesday, Rodrigo Duterte underlined that he would no longer allow such a role as he didn't want the Philippines to be involved in any hostile acts in "someone else’s territory".

"Whether it is really owned by us, which the judgment says we are entitled to... That's besides my point," he said, referring to a Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling that said that Beijing's claim to areas of the South China Sea had no basis.

"The point is I don’t want to ride gung-ho style there with China or with America... I just want to patrol our territorial waters... We do not go into patrol or join any army because I do not want trouble," he added, according to GMA news Tuesday

Earlier this year, the United States announced that it had started joint patrols with the Philippines in the Sea amid the dispute with China.

Beijing claims sovereignty over around 90 percent of the sea, an area marked by a so-called “nine-dash line” on Chinese official maps, while the Philippines and other Asian nations have their own claims.