THE next president of the Republic should not have a “defeatist” attitude toward the territorial dispute with China in the West Philippine Sea, political scientists said on Thursday.
Dr. Renato de Castro, Stratbase ADR Institute trustee, and Dr. Jay Batongbacal, director of the University of the Philippines Institute of Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea shared this view during a webinar hosted by Stratbase on the 70 years of Mutual Defense Treaty between Manila and Washington.

They gave the remark when asked about their thoughts on the effects of the outcome of the 2022 national elections on the country’s relationship with China in the context of the security alliance between the US and the Philippines.

“We must avoid a defeatist candidate. Somebody who would say China is too powerful. China is too big. There is no point in challenging China. We have heard that in the last six years. We cannot afford another,” de Castro said on Thursday.

https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/09/30/news/next-ph-president-shouldnt-bedefeatist-in-west-ph-sea-row/1816634