“America has lost now,” Duterte told Chinese and Philippine business people at a forum in the Great Hall of the People, attended by the Chinese vice-premier, Zhang Gaoli. He told Duterte that China and the Philippines were brothers and they could “appropriately handle disputes”, though he did not mention the South China Sea in remarks made in front of reporters. Following their meeting, during which Duterte said relations with China had entered a new “springtime”, China’s vice-foreign minister, Liu Zhenmin, said the South China Sea issue was not the sum total of relations. China claims most of the energy-rich South China Sea, through which about $5tn in ship-borne trade passes every year. China has welcomed the Philippines’ approaches, even as Duterte has vowed not to surrender any sovereignty to Beijing, which views the South China Sea Hague ruling as null and void.

Source: The Guardian October 20, 2016 07:46 UTC