President Duterte said Filipinos owed a debt of gratitude to China for the vaccines it donated and sold to the country, but that did not mean he would yield Philippine sovereignty over the West Philippine Sea to Beijing.
Several lawmakers and government critics on Thursday said that contrary to Duterte’s statement, it is China that owed the Philippines after encroaching into the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and destroying marine resources in parts of the West Philippine Sea. They said the Philippines should not trade its sovereign rights for the Chinese aid.
“China is a good friend. We owe them a debt of gratitude—a lot, including our vaccines,” the President said duri…
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