The Philippines has given “too much, too early and too soon” in seeking rapprochement with China and may end up with the short end of the stick, a maritime law expert warned on Saturday. “We are trading away too much, too early and too soon in dealing with China,” said Jay Batongbacal, director of the University of the Philippines Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea. Although the country won its case before the UN-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2013 over its claim to the West Philippine Sea, the Duterte administration chose to adopt a policy of appeasement with China. As chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) last year, the Duterte administration refused to bring up the ruling that effectively invalidated China’s sweeping territorial claim in the South China Sea.

Enano, J. (2018, February 18).PH giving China "too much; says up prof. Philippine Daily Inquirer, pp. A1, A2.