President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday described the ramming and sinking of a Filipino fishing boat in the Recto Bank a “little maritime accident,” adding that the Philippines is not ready to challenge China’s military might. In a speech during the 121st anniversary of the Philippine Navy, Duterte finally broke his silence eight days after the incident in which a Chinese boat hit and sank a Filipino fishing boat and abandoned 22 Filipino fishermen in the open waters. They were rescued three hours later by a Vietnamese vessel. “Stay out of trouble. Just build on our own. Let us not meddle with it. Do not allow a little maritime accident, or intentional, [be the reason] to go to war,” Duterte told Navy soldiers at Sangley Point, Cavite.

Mariano, N., Araja, R. N., & Ramos-Araneta, M. (2019, June 18). Rody weighs in on 'accident', pp. A1, A2.