Locsin wants contracts of Chinese firms in sea row terminated

FOREIGN Affairs Secretary Teodoro “Teddy Boy” Locsin, Jr. has recommended the termination of contracts with Chinese firms found to be behind incursions in the South China Sea.

“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,” said Locsin in an interview on CNN Philippines.

He said he would coordinate with the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) to verify if there were any approved or ongoing projects being carried out with Chinese partners covered by US sanctions.

Washington has been taking an aggressive stance against China’s incursion in the South China Sea.

Just this week, the US government sanctioned Beijing’s state-run firms, as well as restricted the issuance of visas on Chinese involved in reclamation and militarization activities in disputed waters.

The US said China has been using its state-owned corporations to dredge and reclaim more than 3,000 acres of disputed territories in the South China Sea, destabilize the region, trample on the sovereign rights of its neighbors, and cause untold environmental devastation.

Earlier this August, Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian flagged American presence in the South China Sea, saying they should stop “trying to make trouble” in the region.

Source: TheManila Times