MANILA (May 17): Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has barred his cabinet from talking about the South China Sea in public, but said the gag order did not mean the country was wavering in its defence of its sovereign rights. "If we talk, we talk but just among us," he said. But Duterte later clarified his order should not be construed as weakness and on Tuesday said maritime patrols must continue. Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea and has built military installations equipped with missiles on reefs in disputed areas, including within the Philippine EEZ, alongside a constant presence of coastguard and fishing vessels. The gag order could lessen tensions at the rhetorical level, said Aaron Jed Rabena of the Asia-Pacific Pathways to Progress, a Manila-based think tank.

Source: The Edge Markets May 18, 2021 08:03 UTC