“At this stage, [that] is pure harassment on the part of the Chinese forces…And this is where President Duterte must come in, to make sure that the Chinese president himself, who is his counterpart in terms of our dialogue partners, must also toe the line,” Ramos said in an interview on ANC television.
Asked how exactly can Duterte “toe the line,” Ramos said: “If we are talking about war on a tiny scale, maybe more on economics than anything else, yes we can — go to war.”
“It’s a quid pro quo thing, but if you’re talking about global war with the use of weapons of mass destruction like nuclear systems and ICBMs or international ballistic missiles, that’s something else,” Ramos added.
Ramos was the Philippines’ former special envoy to China. He resigned in October 2016.
Last week, local fishermen in Mariveles, Bataan said a Chinese Coast Guard speedboat circled them near Union Reef and made warning shots to drive them away.
However, Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano on Monday claimed that the fishermen were harassed not by a Chinese Coast Guard speedboat but by a Chinese Navy ship.
Ramos also said that Duterte has made “out-of-this-world statements” with regards to the territorial dispute in the South China Sea, parts of which Manila refers to as the West Philippine Sea.
He said the ruling of the arbitral tribunal issued last July in favor of the Philippines against China should “be brought up” but only on “practical” matters.
“It can be brought up by saying let’s put it aside and talk about more practical things like safety of life at sea, maritime law enforcement; because there’s so much human smuggling taking place, firearms smuggling and also counterfeiting and transfer of money all over the world,” the former President said.
SOURCE: msn
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