While President Duterte appears to be pro-China and "defeatist" based on his public pronouncements on the West Philippine Sea, his administration has actually taken concrete action to protect the country's sovereignty in disputed waters, an expert said. Lucio Blanco Pitlo, a research fellow at the Asia Pacific Pathways to Progress Foundation, cited the first high-level official visit to Philippine-claimed features, the long-delayed construction projects on the area and a record-high military budget under Duterte’s watch, among his reasons. “The President has scored symbolic, actual and enduring gains in his two years in office that surpass those of his predecessors,” Pitlo said in a July 25 commentary titled “Duterte’s Underappreciated Foreign Policy Gains,” which appeared on the website of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Flores, H. (2018, July 28). 'Rody scoring actual gains for Phl sovereignty'. Philippine Star, p. 2.