Philippine president praises joint resolve to strengthen friendship
Print Edition
PHILIPPINE President Rodrigo Duterte said yesterday that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping had resolved to strengthen their countries’ friendship during their meeting in Beijing, with China pledging to speed up infrastructure projects it is funding in the Philippines.
“We renewed our resolve to strengthen our friendship and mutually beneficial partnership on a broad range of areas,” Duterte said on his return from Beijing. “We resolved to fully use the mechanisms we have established to dialogue openly, monitor progress and ensure implementation of projects.”
Duterte, who took office last June, has been working to repair relations with China strained by territorial conflicts in the South China Sea.
He met separately with Xi and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang after attending the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing.
Duterte said both he and Xi were looking forward to officials from both countries meeting later this week for inaugural bilateral talks on the South China Sea.
He said he didn’t raise an arbitration ruling that had denied China’s claims in the area, a ruling disputed by Beijing.
“There is a time for me to ask about the arbitral ruling, but it is not now,” Duterte said. The agenda, mechanics and “how to present our case to them” have to be ironed out first “because we agreed to talk and to have a dialogue,” he added.
Duterte said he wanted discussions to involve a code of conduct for the sea, which China and Southeast Asian nations have been discussing for some 15 years.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin and Philippine Ambassador Jose Santiago Santa Romana will co-chair the meeting in China’s southwestern Guizhou Province.
Their talks will follow tomorrow’s 14th meeting of senior officials from China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on the implementation of a code of conduct in the South China Sea.
Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the talks would help Beijing and Manila “properly manage differences and promote maritime cooperation for the final settlement of relevant disputes.”
The Philippines, under then-President Gloria Arroyo, entered into an agreement with China and Vietnam in 2005 to jointly study potential oil deposits in the sea.
But the deal collapsed after Filipino politicians questioned its legality.
Duterte said he was open to exploring the South China Sea’s natural resources with China and Vietnam.
“If we can get something there with no hassle at all, why not,” Duterte told reporters. He emphasized the deal would have to be “fair and balanced.”
Duterte made no mention of Malaysia and Brunei, the two other Southeast Asian nations that also have claims to the sea.
Competing claims to the sea, which is believed to hold vast oil and gas deposits, have made it one of Asia’s potential military flashpoints.
Duterte, who took office last year, abandoned the policy of his predecessorBenigno Aquino to forcefully challenge China in diplomatic circles and instead sought to repair bilateral relations.
He has said his decision earned billions of dollars in Chinese investment and aid.
Four agreements were signed during his visit to Beijing, including a grant of 500 million yuan (US$72.5 million) for feasibility studies into infrastructure projects in the Philippines and the construction of a drug rehabilitation center.
Also signed were memorandums of understanding on cooperation in human resources development and personnel exchanges, energy cooperation, and enhancing government capabilities in communication and publishing.
Duterte thanked China for its generosity, including providing grants and loans, promising to build two bridges for free in metropolitan Manila and increasing imports of Philippine agricultural products.
He praised China’s leaders as “generous,” “very liberal” and “sincere,” and described his trip to Beijing as a “windfall” for the Philippines.
Xi hailed “all-round improvement” of relations, calling the Philippines an important partner in the infrastructure project.
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