President Duterte may discuss the arbitral ruling on the South China Sea with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, but Beijing will not be swayed into accepting it, Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua said yesterday. Zhao noted Duterte had announced that the arbitral ruling would be raised in a friendly and “non-confrontational” manner rather than “invoked” with Xi. The envoy said he did not expect the discussion on the ruling to affect friendly bilateral ties. But presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo has a different idea as he quoted Duterte as saying that the “time has come” to invoke the ruling that favors the Philippine position on the South China Sea dispute.

Cabrera, R, Flores, H., Romero, A., Mendez, C., & Laude, J. (2019, August 10). The Philippine Star, pp. 1, 6.