A few months into power, Duterte went so far as stating, "China has the kindest soul of all" and "[we] will never be ready to fight with China.
All of a sudden, Duterte signaled a tougher stance against China.
A more careful analysis suggests that Duterte isn't signaling a more confrontational policy towards China; instead, he is making tactical adjustments to protect his rapprochement with his self-professed strategic patron.
"The arbitral ruling, we will talk about [it] ... That's why I'm going to China," Duterte said during his speech before Filipino-Chinese businessmen, referring to his scheduled meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping, whom he has met at least twice in the past year alone.
After years of systematically courting the defense establishment, which has shown remarkable institutional independence from presidential whims, Duterte likely felt compelled to take a tougher stance against China.
There is another motivation for Duterte to raise the arbitration award, namely a desperate search for any justification for resource-sharing agreements with China in the South China Sea.
Ahead of his visit to China, Duterte unabashedly announced the possibility for sharing energy resources in the contested Reed Bank, which falls in Philippines' waters and China's nine-dashed-line.
https://nationalinterest.org/feature/rodrigo-duterte-strikes-back-76721
All of a sudden, Duterte signaled a tougher stance against China.
A more careful analysis suggests that Duterte isn't signaling a more confrontational policy towards China; instead, he is making tactical adjustments to protect his rapprochement with his self-professed strategic patron.
"The arbitral ruling, we will talk about [it] ... That's why I'm going to China," Duterte said during his speech before Filipino-Chinese businessmen, referring to his scheduled meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping, whom he has met at least twice in the past year alone.
After years of systematically courting the defense establishment, which has shown remarkable institutional independence from presidential whims, Duterte likely felt compelled to take a tougher stance against China.
There is another motivation for Duterte to raise the arbitration award, namely a desperate search for any justification for resource-sharing agreements with China in the South China Sea.
Ahead of his visit to China, Duterte unabashedly announced the possibility for sharing energy resources in the contested Reed Bank, which falls in Philippines' waters and China's nine-dashed-line.
https://nationalinterest.org/feature/rodrigo-duterte-strikes-back-76721
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