Philippines’ Rodrigo Duterte wants to be friends, why isn’t China playing ball?

Philippine strongman finds himself between a rock and a hard place as Beijing refuses to let up on militarising areas it claims in the South China Sea

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Published: 12:02pm, 20 May 2018Updated: 12:01pm, 20 May 2018

President Rodrigo Duterte is at sea again, navigating through unceasing Chinese militarisation off his shores on the one hand and growing domestic demand to assert the Philippines’ sovereignty on the other, even as he seeks friendlier relations with the Asian giant.

After announcing with much fanfare plans to visit underwater plateau Benham Rise to mark the first anniversary of its renaming as Philippine Rise, Duterte this week decided not to go the distance after all. Flying to a navy ship anchored far away at Casiguran Bay, he instead saw off the ship with 50 Filipino scientists to conduct scientific research in Benham Rise, leaving it well before it set sail.

What’s behind Beijing’s South China Sea moves – and why US patrols are making things worse

China has been conducting research in the 130,000 sq km (50,000 square mile) resource-rich area in the Philippines’ eastern waters, which are uncontested unlike the West Philippine Sea, the name Philippines uses for parts of the South China Sea within its claim line.

Beijing has also given Chinese names to five undersea features of the plateau, piling pressure on Duterte to act.

In 2012, the United Nations Commission on the Limits of Continental Shelf awarded Benham Rise to the Philippines, vindicating the country’s claim. This February Duterte halted all foreign marine explorations in the area without Manila’s permission, amid public disquiet over China’s research activities there.