The Philippine president says his militarily inferior country can`t stop China`s actions in contested waters, responding to a reported plan by Beijing to construct an environmental monitoring station in a disputed shoal off the Philippines` northwest coast.
President Rodrigo Duterte, however, warned Sunday that he would invoke a July 12 arbitration ruling that invalidated China`s territorial claims in the South China Sea if the Chinese "start to tinker with the entitlement," apparently meaning when Beijing starts to tap the offshore area`s resources.
Duterte`s remarks differ slightly from those of Manila`s Department of Foreign Affairs, which said that it was trying to verify the news reports about China`s construction plans on Scarborough Shoal and that it would refrain from commenting while doing so.
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