Phl, China agree on ‘friendly consultations’
The Philippines and China on Friday agreed that maritime issues between the two countries in the South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea, should be resolved through “friendly consultations.”
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Bilateral Relations and ASEAN Affairs Ma. Theresa Lazaro and Chinese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Sun Weidong stressed this during the seventh meeting on the Philippines-China Bilateral Consultation Mechanism on the South China Sea.
“The Philippines and China are in agreement that maritime issues do not comprise the totality of bilateral relations between our two countries. However, maritime issues continue to remain a serious concern to the Filipino people,” Lazaro said during the opening session.
“Additionally, both of our countries’ leaders agreed that maritime issues should be addressed through diplomacy and dialogue and never through coercion and intimidation,” she added.
For his part, Sun underscored that “maritime issues are an important part of China-Philippines relations that should not be ignored.”
He recalled that during the visit of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to China in January, Marcos and his counterpart, Chinese President Xi Jinping, reached an “important consensus.”
“The two sides agreed that maritime issues are not the entirety of Philippines-China relations and we should not allow specific differences to define our bilateral relations or allow certain disputes to stand in the way of overall cooperation,” Sun said.
“We need to properly deal with these issues through friendly consultations,” he added.
Sun stressed that Beijing is willing to work with Manila “under the guidance of the important consensus between the two presidents.”
Likewise, he expressed his openness to working with his counterpart under the BCM mechanism.
“I stand ready to work with Madame
Undersecretary to continue to carry forward our fine traditions under this mechanism and also make innovative efforts to make good use of the BCM to try to enhance the two sides’ dialogue, communication, and cooperation on maritime affairs,” he said.
The BCM, established in 2017, has served as the primary platform between the two countries to discuss maritime issues.
Over the past years, Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea has continued to persist, including a recent incident where the China Coast Guard pointed a laser beam at a Philippine Navy vessel.
Under the 2016 ruling of The Hague-based arbitral tribunal, the Philippines has sovereign rights over the West Philippine Sea, rejecting China’s nine-dash line claim.
From 2016 to 2022, the country issued more than 400 note verbales against China, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Earlier, Marcos reiterated that the Philippines will not cede an inch of its territory amid the current geopolitical tension.