President Rodrigo R. Duterte frowns upon a “multilateral approach” to resolve the South China Sea dispute and will push for a deal with another claimant country, his spokesman said last week. Both Mr. Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping think involving other claimant-countries or a third party such as the United Nations won’t resolve the issue, presidential spokesman Salvador S. Panelo said in an interview. “Maybe they don’t believe in a multilateral approach.” Aside from the Philippines and China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan also claim parts of the South China Sea, where about $3.37 trillion worth of global trade passes through annually.

Balinbin, A. L. (2019, September 16). Duterte, Xi favor bilateral deal on sea dispute. BusinessWorld, p. S1/10.