By Ella Dionisio

President Rodrigo Duterte said he sought the help of Chinese President Xi Jinping in order for the country to have COVID-19 vaccines but the disputed territorial waters were not included in the talks.

"And let me just also say... for public consumption. I called President Xi Jinping during the surge of COVID--- when (vaccine czar) Secretary (Carlito) Galvez can't really find (vaccines), I called, I said, 'Mr. President, I would like to ask for your help. Until now, the Philippines is really at a loss of how to get the vaccines'. He said, 'It’s okay, we will help you'. That's it," Duterte said in his weekly 'Talk to the People' Monday night.

Duterte defended the Chinese president saying they offered help without asking the islands in the West Philippine Sea in exchange.

"He did not say, 'Forget about the Scarborough Shoal, I will give you (vaccine),''' he said.

Duterte said it is never wrong to say that the country owes a "debt of gratitude" to China.

"That's the truth. They gave us (vaccines). We received it, but it does not mean that we will receive the vaccine then forget about the claim on the West Philippine Sea," he said.

"It is never like that. The world does not operate like that. The international relations would never work in that kind of (negotiations)... I said, it’s never wrong to admit a debt of gratitude. But it would be wrong to use it as an excuse to maybe retreat from your --- there will be no compromise," he added.

Duterte said China is aware that the vaccines are not their payment in exchange for having the islands claimed by the Philippines in the disputed seas.

"Even if they send a lot of vaccines, I will still use it but I will tell them this is not a payment. This is different. This is Philippine national interest, he said.

The Philippines, along with other Southeast Asian countries, has been engaged in a territorial dispute with China, which has been claiming almost the entire South China Sea, including those within the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Manila.

China also refused to recognize the 2016 arbitral ruling in favor of the Philippines declaring that China's historic and sovereign claim in almost the whole South China Sea was invalid. DMS