'Let them take whatever action is necessary in the pursuit of their national interest... and we will leave it at that,' Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr says
TOP DIPLOMAT. Philippine Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr speaks with the Russian foreign minister during their meeting in Moscow on December 5, 2016. Photo by Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP
Philippine Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr said the Philippines will not file a diplomatic protest against China's reported "militarization" of the Spratly Islands in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).
"We will make sure that there will be no further actions that will heighten the tensions between the two countries, particularly in the Scarborough Shoal," Yasay said in Singapore, in reference to another part of the West Philippine Sea, according to Reuters.
"Let them take whatever action is necessary in the pursuit of their national interest... and we will leave it at that, for the Philippines, we have our bilateral engagements with China," the Philippines' top diplomat was also quoted by Reuters as saying.
Yasay was in Singapore to accompany Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who was there on a state visit.
Yasay issued these remarks after a US-based think tank reported on Wednesday, December 14, that China has apparently installed "significant" defensive weapons on artificial islands in the Spratlys.
'Self-inflicted damage'
On Saturday, December 17, a source privy to the case reacted to Yasay's statements: "If the Philippines does not formally protest, China can later claim that the Philippines consented, or at least acquiesced, to China's military fortifications in the Spratlys, including Mischief Reef."
"Yasay's unilateral declaration is a self-inflicted damage to Philippine national interest," the source added.
The latest images of the Spratlys, released by the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), showed a series of hexagonal structures now in place on each of 7 islets.
They appear to be large anti-aircraft guns and close-in weapons systems (CIWS), the AMTI said.
The construction of these facilities comes months after the Philippines, on July 12, won a historic case against China over the West Philippine Sea.
The July 12 ruling invalidated China's expansive claim over the disputed waters.
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