Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Monday insisted that President Rodrigo Duterte was handling the Philippines’ maritime row with China in the South China Sea very well compared with the Aquino administration, which he said “mismanaged” the dispute. Speaking to reporters after flag-raising rites at the Department of National Defense in Camp Aguinaldo, Lorenzana said “everything went chaotic” in the dispute under the Aquino administration. He pointed out that before the Duterte administration took over, the Philippines had no trade with China, Chinese tourists were not coming in, Filipinos could not fish at Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, and Filipino troops were being harassed by the Chinese in the Spratly Islands.

Andrade, J. I. (2018, June 12). Aquino mismanaged PH sea dispute with China, says defense chief. Philippine Dialy Inquirer, p. A6.