Philippine officials who defended the country’s rights over South China Sea said Donald Trump’s presidency may or may not have an impact on the territorial dispute, depending on his policies on foreign affairs. “It's difficult to say what the relations between the United States and the Philippines would be under a Trump presidency,” former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario told reporters at a forum in Miriam College on Saturday. “I think if we go by the indications of what he had evidenced during the elections, which is to project protectionism and isolationism, I think it may not be the same as before in terms of the closeness of relations between our two countries,” he added.

GMA News. (2016, November 14). Trump presidency's impact on sea disputes uncertain-officials. The Daily Guardian, pp. 4, 11.