Duterte: China is not invading Sandy Cay

President Rodrigo Duterte said there is no reason to defend Sandy Cay if China does not invade the sandbar near Pag-asa Island.

Duterte told reporters in Malacañang late Monday night that China was only patrolling the area because Manila and Beijing are now friends, as opposed to Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio’s claim that Chinese vessels are occupying the sandbar.

“China assured me that they will not build anything there. I called the Ambassador nung nabasa ko. He said, ‘We will assure you that we are not building anything there,’” he said, referring to Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua.

“Hindi nga na-invade eh. Hindi naman totoo iyong sinasabi ni ano—they are just there but they are not claiming anything,” he added, when pressed if he would defend Sandy Cay from China.

While Carpio has urged Duterte and Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano to defend the sandbar, the President thinks otherwise.

“Why should I defend a sandbar and kill the Filipinos because of a sandbar?” he said, after explaining that it was a result of China's land reclamation activities.

Duterte also said he would not invoke the Philippine-US Mutual Defense Treaty if China violates its agreements with his administration. 

Moreover, the President did not see any reason why China would like to occupy the sandbar.

"Why would they risk invading a sandbar and get into a quarrel with us? Ano ang makuha nila?,” he said, adding that Carpio was only speculating when he claimed that taking over Sandy Cay would give China sovereignty over Subi Reef. — BAP, GMA News