President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday condemned the latest flare-up in the West Philippine Sea after Chinese coast guard ships fired water cannons at Filipino boats. Duterte made the remarks at the ASEAN-China summit hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping, who vowed his country would “never seek hegemony, and certainly not bully the small.” “We abhor the recent event in the Ayungin Shoal and view with grave concern other similar developments,” Duterte told the meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China, using the Filipino name for the shoal.

Barcelo, V., Requejo, R. E., & Cruz, M. V. (2021, November 23). Rody 'abhors' Ayungin attack. Manila Standard, pp. A1, A2.