President Duterte last night said he is willing to conduct bilateral talks with China but within the context of the decision of a UN-backed tribunal awarding sovereign rights to the Philippines in the dispute over South China Sea “I will only bring the issue when we are together face to face. Because if we quarrel with them now and you claim sovereignty… they might just not even want to talk,” he said. Duterte made the statement after he was asked if he would be bringing up the issue during his tour to ASEAN countries in the next few weeks.

Mendez, C. (2016, August 18). Duterte ready to face China on territorial issue. Philippine Star, p. 14.