President Duterte yesterday asked Beijing to allow Filipino fishermen to fish in disputed waters in the West Philippine Sea in a bid to warm bilateral relations. Duterte made the appeal as he expressed hope that bilateral talks between Manila and Beijing would start soon. “If you disregard the bilateral (talks), where will we go? Better to continually engage China in a diplomatic dialogue rather than anger officials there and they cut ties completely,” the President said.

Mendez, C., Romero, A., & Lee-Brago, P. (2016, August 24). Allow Pinoy fishermen in disputed seas, Rody asks Beijing. The Philippine Star, p. 3.