The maritime dispute will not be on the agenda of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit, given that President Rodrigo Duterte had declared the issue “is better left untouched.” The President on Sunday reiterated he does not want to bring up the enforcement of the landmark United Nations (UN) Arbitration Tribunal ruling in July 2016 that found China’s claim over the entire South China Sea illegal. “China is the number one economic power. We have to be friends [with China]. Other countries would like us to confront China on these issues; the South China Sea [issue] is better left untouched,” Duterte said in his speech during the Asean Business and Investment Summit.

Duterte: Sea row better left untouched. (2017, November 13). The Manila Times, p. A2.