Philippine President Benigno Aquino III met with China’s Vice Foreign
Minister Fu Ying in the Palace yesterday as both countries looked forward to
warmer relations amid a still unresolved territorial dispute in the West
Philippine Sea (South China Sea).
Fu, in Manila for the 18th
Foreign Ministry Consultations between the Philippines and China, paid a
courtesy call on the President at around 2:30pm yesterday.
“Hopefully it will contribute to
us moving forward,” Undersecretary Abigail Valte, deputy presidential
spokesperson, told reporters in a briefing before the call, pointing out that
the meeting was held in a year of friendly exchanges between the two countries.
The Palace deferred to the
Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to disclose details of the Aquino-Fu
meeting.
In the morning, Fu called on
Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario and cohosted the consultations with
Foreign Undersecretary Erlinda Basilio. It was the first official high-level
talks between the two countries since a maritime dispute erupted in April.
In her statement issued by the
Chinese Embassy in Manila, Fu said she and her Philippine officials exchanged
views on China-Philippines relations and issues of common interest in a
constructive atmosphere.
“The two sides had candid and
in-depth discussions on the issues existing in their relations and agreed to
maintain the dialogue and properly address differences, so as to avoid negative
impact on the bilateral cooperation,” she said.
‘Important neighbours’
Fu, who came to Manila on the
invitation of the DFA, said both China and the Philippines “see each other as
important neighbours who share a long history of friendly exchanges.”
She said she and her counterparts
agreed that continued China-Philippine cooperation “serves the interests of the
two countries.”
The two sides, she said, also
agreed to work together to implement the consensus reached between leaders of
the two countries and promote bilateral exchanges at all levels and cooperation
in the areas of economy and trade, science and technology, law enforcement and
people-to-people links.
The Chinese official also said
efforts should be made to follow up on the exchange programmes under the “Years
of Friendly Exchanges (2012-2013),” adding “The two sides will make joint
endeavours to forge a common path towards healthy and stable development of
China-Philippine relations.”
Fu said she also met senior
Philippine lawmakers, government officials, and some old friends “to renew our
friendship and discuss matters of cooperation.”
Tensions between the countries
flared up in April when Philippine and Chinese ships became locked in a
standoff at the Panatag Shoal, a group of coral and rock formations in the South
China Sea.
China claims sovereignty over
nearly all of the sea, including islets which are believed to sit atop vast
reserves of oil and gas and have abundant fishing grounds, which is a vital
shipping lane.
The Philippines, Brunei Malaysia
and Vietnam, and Taiwan also claim parts of the sea.
Two days before Fu’s visit, the
president said there was a “little bettering of situation” with Beijing over
the shoal but was far from normal. He hoped the relations would get warmer
during the transition of Chinese leadership.
Both the Philippines and China
have dispatched envoys in recent months to break the impasse over the shoal.
After failing to meet Chinese
President Hu Jintao in Russia early September, Aquino later sent Interior
Secretary Manuel Roxas II to meet with Chinese leader-in-waiting Vice President
Xi Jinping.
TJ Burgonio and
Jerome Aning
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