MANILA, Philippines — Comparing the South China Sea dispute to basketball, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said that the Philippines has its "heart" as an advantage against China.
In a briefing of the West Philippine Sea situation at the House of Representatives, ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro asked Cayetano what the country has against Beijing's aggressive actions in the disputed waterway.
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"Pasensya na po kayo sa sagot ko pero sasagutin ko kayo sa lenggwahe ng basketball — puso (Excuse me for my answer but I will use the language of basketball — heart)," Cayetano told the House panel.
The Philippines' national basketball team, Gilas Pilipinas, has "puso" as its battlecry in its games against teams of other countries.
Cayetano noted that the foreign basketball teams are taller, eat healthier food, have higher-paid coaches and have better coliseums.
"Pero tayo puso (but we have heart) and, of course, international law," Cayetano said.
On a more serious note, Cayetano said that Beijing wants a peaceful neighborhood that's why they try to avoid conflicts with their neighboring countries.
"They won't have a peaceful neighborhood if we are fighting but they cannot ignore us... and we cannot also ignore them. It's hard to find a balance but we just have to build trust going there," he said.
The DFA secretary added that the lack of conflict with the Philippines would be "one less problem" for China as it is already dealing with other matter such as the Belt and Road Initiative, the brewing trade war with the United States and the boundary dispute with India.
Like China, the Philippines also has other problems such as the unrest in Mindanao, poverty and rising prices of goods.
"It's really the goodwill. China is enjoying the good relations with the Philippines... If we're one less problem that's good for them," Cayetano said.
The Duterte administration has been pushing for stronger ties with China amid the latter's increasing militarization in the South China Sea. Under the Duterte administration, the Philippine government had also shelved a tribunal ruling that invalidated Beijing's nine-dash line claim over the South China Sea.
In the past months, Beijing has deployed anti-ship missiles, surface-to-air missile systems and electronic jammers to its "big three" islands in the Spratly Islands, which are also being claimed by Manila.