After exhibiting a tolerance that his critics misinterpreted as weakness, President Rodrigo Duterte last week took a strong stand against Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea, where Beijing has deployed more than 200 vessels—some of them manned by coast guards and militia—around Pag-asa Island over the last few months. “Let us be friends, but do not touch Pag-asa Island and the rest,” the President said at a rally in Puerto Princesa, Palawan. “If you make moves there, that’s a different story. I will tell my soldiers, ‘Prepare for a suicide mission,’” he added. “I’m just telling you [to] lay off the Pag-asa because I have soldiers there.”

A strong, united stand. (2019, April 8). Manila Standard, p. A4.