MANILA, Philippines - President Benigno S. Aquino III poked fun at China's territorial claims in the disputed West Philippine Sea as he again rejected bilateral talks with the Asian giant.
In an interview with ANC aired on Tuesday night, Aquino criticized China for seeking joint development in the West Philippine Sea while claiming almost the entire contested waters.
"The joke then was it seemed like China was saying 'what is ours is ours and what is yours, we share.' And I was like of course, I laughed at that time," Aquino said.
Aquino explained why Manila should not have joint ventures with Beijing in the West Philippine Sea.
"Our laws recognize that we can have foreign investors, for instance, in an oil exploration in the West Philippine Sea. I think the discussions bogged down in terms of conflict resolution," Aquino said.
"Assuming there is a disagreement between the joint venture partners, whose laws apply? And that becomes again laws apply for sovereignty," he added.
The president also maintained his opposition to bilateral negotiations with China to resolve the territorial dispute.
Aquino insisted that the sea row is not only a bilateral concern as it involves other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
"They keep saying 'let's have a bilateral dialogue'. And our position is, Spratlys is multilateral foreign ASEAN alone, plus Taiwan, plus China, there's six of us," Aquino said.
"How can two bind the other four into any agreement? It has to be a multilateral fora so that we have a lasting agreement amongst ourselves," he added. - Louis Bacani