Duterte has said that the Philippines will charter a course of its own, shifting away from Aquino government's overarching dependence on U.S. military support.
"We will chartering a course of our own," Duterte has said.
"It will not be dependent on America, and it will be a line not intended to please anybody but the Filipino interests," said Lim.
Asked what the implication of Duterte's "softening move" will be on the country's relations with the United States, Lim said, "Philippine interests will not be formulated whether the international community would look at it with approval or not. It would be in the interests of the Philippines."
Lim said Duterte's statement that he would wait for the ruling and study its implications meant that even if it were in our favor "he will still examine the consequences of what that decision means."
TO HAVE STRONG TRADE, INVESTMENT RELATIONS
Rommel Banlaoi, director of the Center for Intelligence and National Security Studies, said Duterte wanted to open direct talks with China on many facets of diplomatic relations like economic and trade, and not just about political issues like the South China Sea.
Banlaoi said Duterte was not just exploring ways "to revive the stagnant relations between Beijing and Manila but he also wants a better economic ties with China."
"Duterte does not want the bilateral relationship with China to revolve around the dispute on the South China Sea, meaning that his administration is willing to talk about other, more equally important aspect of the relations," Banlaoi said.
In an editorial on Monday, the Philippine Daily Inquirer said that despite its territorial dispute with China, it is possible for the Philippines to have strong trade and investment relations with China, adding one major avenue for this is the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
"The AIIB has been described as modern and multilateral, or China's 21st-century answer to lenders like the World Bank and the ADB (Asian Development Bank). And the Philippines will be better off borrowing through a more transparent window now," the editorial said.
Banlaoi said Duterte was fostering an independent foreign policy, "a policy that is not pro this and against that" despite what he described as "tremendous pressure" from strategic partners like the United States and its allies in the region.
"It's a difficult and delicate balancing act," Balaoi said, adding that Duterte was determined to have good relations with everybody.
On the forthcoming arbitral ruling, Banlaoi said the administration has already said that it will carefully study the ruling before taking the next step.
"My reading is that the administration will make sure that its next step will support its position to bring back good ties with China," he said.
