The Philippine president has said he would “set aside” a ruling by an international arbitration tribunal that invalidated Beijing’s claims to most of the South China Sea, because he doesn’t want to impose on China. “In the play of politics, now, I will set aside the arbitral ruling. I will not impose anything on China,” Rodrigo Duterte said at a news conference on Saturday. He made the comment when asked if a US thinktank report stating that China installed anti-aircraft and anti-missile weapons on its new artificial islands in the disputed waters would affect his perception of Beijing. The Philippines claims the reefs, which were turned by China into man-made islands. Read more
