MANILA – Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Teodoro “Teddy Boy” Locsin, Jr. will recommend the cancellation of local contracts with Chinese firms found to be behind incursions in the South China Sea.
Locsin said in an interview with CNN Philippines’ The Source on Friday that the move was similar to sanctions imposed by the United States.
“Yes, if I find any of those companies are doing business with us, then I would strongly recommend we terminate that relationship with them. If they were in any way involved in the reclamation, then it becomes consistent on our part to terminate any contract with them,” Locsin said.
“Of course, since the contract was already entered into, they could sue us back… I’m very careful about validating anything China does by inaction,” he added.
Locsin, however, said that he still needs to coordinate with the Department of Transportation and the National Economic and Development Authority if any approved or ongoing projects are being carried out with Chinese partners covered by US sanctions.
The US government has recently imposed sanctions on Beijing’s state-run firms as well as visa restrictions on Chinese individuals involved in reclamation and militarization activities in disputed waters.
In 2016, a Hague-based international tribunal ruled as invalid Beijing’s sweeping territorial stakes in the South China Sea and recognized Manila’s sovereign rights within areas of its exclusive economic zone which China claims.
Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, and Taiwan also have their own territorial claims in the South China Sea. However, China has continued with its island-building activities in features covered by the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone even with the ruling./PN
