Philippines' Duterte refuses to stop South China Sea patrols

(file photo) A Chinese fishing vessel is anchored next to Filipino fishing boats at the disputed Scarborough Shoal

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has said he will not withdraw navy and coast guard boats patrolling the disputed South China Sea, insisting the country's sovereignty over the waters is not negotiable. Tensions over the sea -- which China claims almost entirely -- have spiked as Beijing refuses to pull out vessels from the Philippines' Exclusive Economic Zone and Manila steps up maritime patrols. Duterte is under growing domestic pressure to take a harder line, but has been reluctant to confront China over the issue as he fosters closer ties with the economic giant. He said late Wednesday that while the Philippines is indebted to its ‘good friend’ China for many things, including free Covid-19 vaccines, his country's claims to the waterway ‘cannot be bargainable’.