PH, China agree to back ‘early conclusion’ of SCS code —DFA
MANILA — The Philippines and China have agreed to “support the early conclusion” of discussions about the creation of a code of conduct in South China Sea (SCS), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.
President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and his Chinese counterpart President Xi Jinping both affirmed that the sea code would “help manage differences and regional tensions” in the disputed waters, the DFA said in a statement.
“The two leaders agreed that maritime issues do not define the totality of Philippines-China relations,” the statement read.
The DFA also noted that Marcos told Xi: “Our foreign policy refuses to fall into the trap of a Cold
War mindset. Ours is an independent foreign policy guided by our national interest and commitment to peace.”
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs earlier said that Xi told Marcos that he wants to “write a new chapter in the ChinaPhilippines friendship.”
ASEAN and China signed a declaration to create a sea code in 2002, but the actual code has yet to be finalized after two decades.
Among the contentious parts of the negotiations are whether or not the code should be legally binding, and if nonparties should also be subject to it.
Meanwhile, China also donated 20,000 tons of urea fertilizers, a commodity that Marcos had been asking for from several countries earlier this year.
“President Xi said that China was open to increasing the importation of quality agricultural produce from the Philippines, highlighting the planned entry of durian from the Philippines to the Chinese market,” the DFA said.
The bilateral meeting between Manila and Beijing comes about two months before Marcos flies to China for a state visit.
It also happened days before United States Vice President Kamala Harris travelled to the Philippines to check the situation in the West Philippine Sea, where China has militarized several shoals and reefs that fall within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.