Duterte Guarantees China A Neutral PH Following Arrival Of Vaccines
DUTERTE GUARANTEES PH NEUTRALITY – According to President Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippines would remain neutral in geopolitics with China.
Recently, the country received 739,000 doses of China’s Sinopharm vaccine. This was part of the 1 million doses China pledged to provide to the Philippines.
Following the vaccines’ arrival, Duterte wanted to relay to Chinese President Xi Jinping his message through the Chinese ambassador. Based on an article from Inquirer, Duterte stated that he had the “deepest gratitude and many, many thanks for China’s attitude to us”.
Furthermore, he stressed that even amid turmoil in geopolitics, the Philippines would “stay neutral and remain true to what we have guaranteed China” during his term as President.
However, he failed to disclose the challenger or issues related to his statement. But, many believe this was a clear nod to the controversial West Philippine Sea debate against China.
Additionally, as the vaccines arrived in the Philippines, Duterte said this was a “testament of goodwill” from the Chinese government. Moreover, he says it meant that a deeper relationship between China and Philippines is being achieved.
As a response to this, Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian highlighted how the COVID-19 pandemic should not be politicized. As per the article, he said:
These difficult times highlight our friendship and partnership between our two nations and two peoples. We are committed to continuing this cooperation with the Philippines and providing more vaccines to help defeat the virus and revitalize the economy
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