Trust brings understanding
Since Mr. Duterte assumed office in 2016, he has taken a more pragmatic approach in both nations’ relations
BEIJING — President Rodrigo Duterte will definitely raise a 2016 arbitral ruling favoring the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea, but it will be based on mutual trust, the President’s spokesman Salvador Panelo said on the start of the Chief Executive’s official visit to China.
Regardless of the outcome of the two leaders’ meeting, Panelo expressed confidence it will not dampen the bilateral relations of the Philippines and China as he added that the territorial dispute is only a small dent in the vast area of cooperation shared by both countries.
The Chinese are anticipating a productive meeting.
“After attending the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing in April, Duterte decided to visit China for the second time this year in less than five months, which shows how close ties are, the heightened desire of Manila to cooperate with Beijing and the high degree of political trust,” according to state mouthpiece Global Times.
The state-owned news agency stated the significance of the visit lies in the promotion of “pragmatic cooperation and in turning the consensus between the two countries into concrete action.”
Mr. Duterte is also expected to discuss the long-mooted Code of Conduct when he sits down with Xi, according to Panelo.
The President is the lead negotiator for the Association of Southeast Asian NationsChina Dialogue whose main task is to complete a sea pact to avoid maritime incidents and confrontations between China and ASEAN member-states.
Pragmatic take
Since Mr. Duterte assumed office in 2016, he has taken a more pragmatic approach in both nations’ relations, the Chinese agency said.
He has attached more importance to economic cooperation and played down the South China Sea dispute, Global Times indicated.
“As the President, Duterte’s foreign policies are based on the national interest of the Philippines and the deterioration of relations with China is harmful to the national interest,” Xu Liping, director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said.
“Some Filipinos have criticized Duterte’s China policy for being too weak, arguing that Manila should adopt a tougher stance on the South China Sea arbitration ruling. These people are influenced by some external powers,” he added.