Senator proposes to look for trained, young envoy to China

MANILA’S next envoy to Beijing should be at least a trained diplomat, a senator who strongly opposed the appointment of then-ambassador Domingo Lee said yesterday.

While mum on President Benigno C. Aquino III’S decision not to endorse Lee anew to the Congressled on Commission on Appointments (CA), Sen. Sergio Osmeña III asked him to be circumspect in vetting candidates, especially that the Philippines has an ongoing territorial dispute with China.

“The attributes of the next ambassador: Trained diplomat who has experience with treaty negotiations and familiarity with properly timed uses of hard power and soft power. He must be young enough also to withstand the rigors of what we expect would be a very, long drawn out process (of confirmation),” Osmeña said.

Lee, 77, requested in a letter to the president last April 12 that his nomination should be pulled out, which came days after the Philippines and China maintained their respective claims to the resource-rich Scarborough Shoal.

Militant groups earlier reiterated calls to the Chinese Government to respect Philippine sovereignty, get out of the shoal, and stop its alleged marine poaching activities in Philippine waters.

“Since he (Lee) couldn’t get confirmation, he felt that the president would be better served if he could find someone that was more acceptable to the CA,” Palace aide said.