MANILA, Philippines—Malacañang moved swiftly to contain the
fire stoked by revelations of infighting between Foreign Affairs
Secretary Albert Del Rosario and pro-administration Senator Antonio
Trillanes IV over the issue of the West Philippine Sea being disputed by
China.
President Aquino ordered both officials to keep things to themselves until he has separately met with them.
In a Palace briefing, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda disclosed that the President had already talked with Del Rosario.
“The President intends to speak to Senator Trillanes also,” said
Lacierda, but was quick to say that Trillanes was authorized by the
President to talk with Beijing officials via back-channel negotiations.
This, he said, was during the height of the tensions between China and the Philippines over the Scarborough Shoal.
“And the President said let’s keep our options open. The
President was approached by Senator Trillanes that there’s a way forward
to hold these things … and so, that’s what happened,” said Lacierda,
adding, “But you must remember that Senator Trillanes also mentioned... Read more here...
No comments:
Post a Comment