Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Monday rejected the claim of the critics of the Duterte administration that it has adopted a policy of appeasement in dealing with China. "Appeasement? No. In fact, you are looking at the opposite of appeasement," Locsin told ANC. He also denied that the reported presence of three US aircraft carriers in the disputed South China Sea was linked to President Rodrigo Duterte's decision to keep a troop-deployment agreement with Washington.

Requejo, R. E. (2020, June 23). DFA says no policy to appease China, chides critics. Manila Standard, pp. A1, A2.