Philippines To Maintain Good Relations With China - DFA Chief
MANILA -- Amid the growing tension between the Philippines and China over their separate claims on the West Philippine Sea, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario maintained the government's position that the Philippines will continue to observe good relations with China.
The statement was made after a nationalist newspaper in China urged the Chinese government to impose economic sanctions on the Philippines for entering into an agreement with the United States government in increasing joint military exercises in the Philippines.
“Our relations with China, as we had said before, should be governed by mutual respect, equality, and observance of each other’s sovereignty,” del Rosario said late Sunday.
“We are certain that China will fully concur with our stated position,” the foreign department chief said in a statement.
On Sunday, the Beijing-based Global Times published an editorial urging the Chinese government to impose economic sanctions against the Philippines for allowing more US troops into the country.
The publication also urged Beijing to think about “cooling down” business dealings with Manila.
Earlier, the Philippines and the United States announced negotiations on expanding US military presence in the country so that Manila may protect its claims on the disputed Spratly Islands.
For its part, China has yet to officially make a statement as it celebrated a week-long holiday of the Lunar New Year.
To recall, China has been very vocal about its firm disapproval on the idea of the US government intervening in the dispute, saying that it will only negotiate with claimant parties on a bilateral level.
Apart from China and the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Brunei Darussalam have separate claims over the potentially rich Spratly Islands, one of the world’s most important sea lanes for global trade.
Last year, both Manila and Hanoi (Vietnam) filed diplomatic protests against Beijing at the height of increasing Chinese military activities in the disputed waters.
Source: http://interaksyon.net/article/23216/philippines-to-maintain-good-relations-with-china----dfa-chief
