NO ‘GENTLEMAN’S AGREEMENT’ BETWEEN PH, CHINA ON WEST PH SEA — DUTERTE

FORMER President Rodrigo Duterte said there was no “gentleman’s agreement” that occurred between the Philippines and China on the West Philippine Sea (WPS) during his term.

“There is no agreement, as is where it is.” Having a a “gentleman’s agreement” is not a practice of the president,” Duterte said in a press briefing on Thursday night.

The former president said nobody in the country, whether in the Supreme Court, Presidency, or Congress, could concede anything about territories.

Duterte said that the only thing he remembered when he spoke with People’s Republic of China President Xi Jinping was about the status quo order, which states that armed patrols will not be seen moving in the West Philippine Sea to avoid tension and war.

“That’s what I remember. If it were a gentleman’s agreement, it would always have been an agreement to keep the peace in the South China Sea,” Duterte said.

The former chief executive also said that he once told the Chinese president of the government’s plan to conduct a research mission on the Philippines side of the South China Sea to find oil but he was told not to do it.

“Do not do it becase there will be trouble,” Duterte recalled Xi telling him.

He said that while there was no written agreement, he had a verbal agreement with the Chinese leader not to fix the BRP Sierra Madre which he honored because he did not want to go into war with China.

Duterte added that he does not know were former Palace spokesman Harry Roque got his information about the “gentleman’s agreement” as he was not there during the meeting with China.