BALANGA CITY, Bataan -- Former Senator Juan Ponce Enrile has sided with President Rodrigo Duterte in his foreign policy stance on China.
“Tama ang posisyon ng Pilipinas na ginawa ni Presidente Duterte sapagka’t geographically nandito tayo, ang China nasa mainland Asia na ang distansya ay 600 miles samantalang ang America, 7,000 miles (The position of the Philippine as what President Duterte has been done is right because geographically we are here. China is in mainland Asia with a distance of 600 miles while America is 7,000 miles) so, necessarily we have to deal with China,” he said while on a campaign sortie in this province on Thursday.
Enrile added that China has the biggest population and possibly the biggest economic market in Asia that cannot be ignored.
The reelectionist senator said "we have to deal with the United States of America and the Middle East because of the country’s problem on energy".
“Militarily, we do not have the capability to face China. It would be suicidal for us to do it. Not even America can take China as of now,” Enrile said.
The ruling of the Arbitral Tribunal on the West Philippines Sea cannot be enforced by the United Nations and even by the United States, he noted.
“So we have to negotiate with China. Tama yong ginagawa ni Presidente Duterte (what President Duterte has been doing is right). I am not a part of his group but I support him in his policy. Regardless of political position, it is to the interest of the nation that we support a correct policy for the country,” he said.
He chided the “noisy” critics of the Duterte administration, saying they do not understand the issue.
“Dalawang division lang ng China ang pumasok dito, luluhod na tayo (with only two divisions of China entering here, we will kneel down),” he said.
Enrile said he has studied the issue for 20 years -- for 17 years while Secretary of the Department of National Defense and for another three years while out of the Senate.
He said he believes that China is not a hegemon.
“It does not have the history of grabbing countries except when it is strategically important for the existence of China like Tibet,” the senator said. (PNA)
