PRRD commits to pursue peace diplomacy

From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 11): PRRD commits to pursue peace diplomacy

President Rodrigo R. Duterte reiterated his stand on the peaceful settlement of disputes and vowed to pursue an independent foreign policy.

In his arrival press conference on Saturday at the Davao International Airport, the President said, “In our foreign relations with the world, the Philippines will pursue an independent foreign policy. We will observe and I must insist, I repeat, I must insist on the time-honored principles of sovereign equality, non-interference and commitment to peaceful settlement of disputes to best serve our people and to protect the interest of the country.”

President Duterte led a 30-man Philippine delegation to the just-concluded 28th and 29th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summits in Laos followed by a working visit to Indonesia.

“I do not have an obligation to please everybody or to please one person. But if you’re a Filipino, I am at your service because I work for you. I receive my keep for the day from the pocket of the people,” he said.

Recounting what transpired in Vientiane, PRRD said everybody, especially the ASEAN leaders, were concerned about the China issue and hoped the conflict would not go out of control or result in any military confrontation.

“We have been very consistent that we can only talk about this issue in peace and we avoid challenging and you know expressions of anger, because after all, you cannot solve this problem with anger,” the President said.

“But I assured everybody that there are only two options there: You go to war and pick a fight, which we cannot afford at all, or talk, and because also of the desire of everybody to avoid any regional conflict, that might not really be good at all. You have to talk with sense and we appeal to the humanity of the fellow in front of you,” he stressed.

Earlier in Jakarta, President Duterte said, “War is no longer the vogue of the moment. It’s not the practice anymore. We should avoid war. We should avoid conflicts. I am a peaceful man now, after the ASEAN.”

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=922116