President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday said that he was not willing to go to war with China to claim the Philippines’ sovereignty in the heavily disputed South China Sea.

“We have to go to war. And I cannot afford it. Maybe some other president can but I cannot,” said Duterte, who during his presidential campaign promised to go to disputed waters on a jet ski and plant a Philippine flag to assert the country’s ownership of the waters.

“Inutil ako diyan and I’m willing to admit it. Talagang inutil ako diyan, walang magawa,” he added.

During his intervention in the 36th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit last month, Duterte told other Asean leaders to steer clear of stirring up tensions in South China Sea.

He also urged Asean leaders to adhere to the rule of law and to their commitments to international instruments, including the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.

Earlier, China rejected compliance to the 2016 arbitration ruling that invalidated 90 percent of its claim on South China Sea, saying the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea’s decision was “illegal and invalid.”

“China is claiming it, we are claiming it. China has the arms. We do not have it so it’s simple as that. They are in possession of the property,” Duterte said. John Ezekiel J. Hirro