Del Rosario: Philippines-China verbal tussle should end

MANILA, Philippines - Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said he is saddened by the recent heated exchange of the Philippines and China on their positions on disputed West Philippine Sea territories.

"What I think about that (tussle) is that should end," Del Rosario said in an ambush interview with Philstar.com after President Benigno Aquino III delivered his fourth State of the Nation Address on Monday.

Del Rosario said that the right venue for the debate is before the arbitration court where the case of the two claimant countries is being deliberated.

Related: Arbitral proceedings on Philippines-China sea row start

"We define the core issue that is China's position of indisputable sovereignty and that is what is being dealt with in arbitration," he added.

He is also confident that the country's approach to the claim can withstand criticisms on the dispute from China and even from the international community.

"Our response there is that under this new leadership, we have adopted a principled foreign policy, and I think that should be respected," the foreign affairs chief said.

In his more than an hour speech, Aquino commended Del Rosario for squarely facing danger in Libya to repatriate overseas Filipino workers.

"Pagkatapos niyang manumpa bilang Foreign Affairs Secretary, kumuha lang yata ng pambihis, lumipad agad si Secretary del Rosario patungong Libya; dumaan sa mahigit dalawampung checkpoint sa gitna ng putukan, at pinamunuan ang paglikas ng mahigit dalawampung libong Pilipino na naipit sa kaguluhan sa Libya," Aquino said.

The president also thanked Del Rosario for taking his post at the department even when he can be "more comfortable in a private life" as a successful businessman.

Acknowledging the praise, Del Rosario said in the interview that he is just among the people who follow Aquino's good example.

"At the very beginning he said something that was a total message of the speech: If you do what's right, people will join you. That's what the SONA is all about. We should join him because he is precisely doing what is right," he added.

Foreign affairs officials of both countries have issued statements to the press in response to each one's accusations concerning the sea row in the past weeks.

China accused the Philippines of abandoning its commitment in bilateral talks and criticizing Beijing in international forums. The Philippines, meanwhile, earned China's ire as it insists on a "rules-based approach" and on seeking arbitration before the United Nations.

Related: China hits back: Phl broke commitment, aggravated dispute