PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte shrugged off Monday reports that China has installed weapons in its man-made islands in the West Philippine Sea.
In a speech delivered at the awards ceremonies for the outstanding government workers, Duterte said he is more focused on addressing domestic problems rather than confronting China over its supposed militarization in the disputed island.
"What will I do with the Scarborough Shoal? Swim there every day? For what? To send my soldiers there to die, floating? My God, I will just have to start with the domestic problem," the President said.
In a report by Reuters, the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative found that China has deployed anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems on the artificial islets it has built in the disputed Scarborough Shoal.
Duterte, who has wanted to have an enhanced ties with China, reiterated that he would not insist that the Philippines has sovereign rights on the maritime features, despite the international court's ruling favoring his administration.
He even suggested to just dole out the human resources in the West Philippine Sea between China and the Philippines to settle the territorial row.
"Why would I pick a fight? If I send the marines there, they'll be wiped out in just one minute. It will be a disaster," Duterte said.
"If you want, let's just develop... What's the oil there? Let's parcel it out. What will I do to that sea anyway," he added.
While Duterte refused to raise the arbitral ruling, he said there is a proper time to discuss it with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
"There will be a day, I told Xi Jinping that we will have to take this up but not now," Duterte said. "I will bring up this someday but it will be during my time that I have this arbitral so I have to push it." (Sunnex)
