China could have held President Rodrigo Duterte to his “unilateral declaration” to set aside the Philippines’ 2016 victory at the international arbitral tribunal were it not for Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr.’s timely intervention, Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said on Friday. Locsin’s “prompt clarification” that the Philippines was not setting aside the ruling that upheld the country’s sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea against China’s expansive claims over nearly the entire South China Sea, averted any dire consequences from Mr. Duterte’s statements, according to the magistrate. The President told reporters that in a meeting in Beijing early this month, Chinese President Xi Jinping told him to “set aside your claim” and “allow everybody connected with the Chinese companies” to join the exploration for oil and gas, and that China would be “gracious” enough to guarantee the Philippines 60 percent of the revenue.

Pazzibugan, D. Z. & Aurelio, J. M. (2019, September 14). Carpio thankful Locsin cleared Du30 gab on arbitral ruling. Philippine Daily Inquirer, pp. A1, A11.