President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, made the chilling statement in an interview with Russian media, criticising Vietnam for its “aggressive” defence of its claimed waters. He said: “The other side [Vietnam] really wants to do a more aggressive stance, and I cannot afford to do it. “I cannot afford a stand where I will be drumming my drums because we cannot afford it. It would annihilate the Philippines. And so that is very dangerous. “Local government of the Philippines is near them. And so it would be reckless move if I sent just like Vietnam small vessels only to get a bloody nose at the end of the day.”

Despite heavy backing from the US throughout the boiling South China Sea dispute, the Philippines President has said he wants to “heal” relations with China.

Mr Duterte also claimed that retaliation to China’s aggression could cause the US to escalate their involvement “beyond control”.

He said: “The response might not be that contained if I get to move because there are so many American ships here.

“They might just also want to take advantage and make it a pretext that they are defending the Philippines and it will go out beyond our control.

“We want as well to just be friendly, improve our trade and commerce and let time heal. Tomorrow will take care of itself, one thing we are sure of.

“And like any other historical claim, the world is always changing and we did not really do it at the expense of the lives of Filipinos.”

The comments come as a shock given Washington’s backing of the Philippines as the country sought to prevent China from further encroachment into its economic exclusion zone.

In 2016, the Philippines won a case in the Permanent Court of Arbitration invalidating China’s claims to almost the entire stretch of sea. China does not recognise the ruling.

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“They have to balance the two interests, the closer you get to China the more integrated you can become into the Chinese economy, but it is also likely you are going to want a security counterbalance with the US.”

The US has previously used the Philippines as a platform from which to stake its own claim in the region as Washington tries to aid smaller nations from further encroachment.

In 2016, the US reached an agreement with the Philippines to build five military installations located throughout the country.

The base which infuriated Beijing more than any other was the Antonio Bautista Air Base on western Palawan island, which faces the hotly disputed Spratly islands directly.