West Philippine Sea INQUIRER FILE
MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo on Sunday pushed for the conduct of “multilateral talks” to settle the West Philippine Sea row as opposed to the holding of bilateral talks between China and the Philippines.
READ: PH, China agree on importance of dialogue to ease West PH Sea tension — DFA
Speaking in her weekly radio program over AM radio DZXL, Robredo noted that the idea of having multilateral talks is being pushed by experts, noting that having bilateral talks with China will put the Philippines at a disadvantage.
“If it’s bilateral, it’s like we are negotiating from an inferior position because we are small. That’s why I am pushing for multilateral talks,” Robredo said in Filipino.
“When we say multilateral talks, it’s not only the Philippines and China that will be talking but other countries that share the concerns and issues will have to be included as well,” she added. “Even President Duterte has always doubted our capacity to fight as we lack resources, we lack et cetera.”
“This is the reason, actually. This is also the reason why multilateral talks would help protect our interest better than having bilateral talks,” she said.