China, Philippines to start maritime talks ‘this week’

BEIJING: China and the Philippines will start bilateral consultations on the disputed South China Sea this week, the Philippine ambassador to Beijing said, as Manila looks to ease tensions with Asia’s top economic power.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who was in Beijing to attend the summit on China’s new Silk Road plan, has opted to court China for its business and investment and avoid rows over sovereignty that dogged his predecessors.

Philippine Ambassador to China Jose Santiago Santa Romana told reporters late on Saturday that the consultations between the two countries would take place in a Chinese city, but declined to name it. He added that the dispute between the two countries “cannot be resolved overnight”. China has not publicly announced any such talks.

Mr Duterte has been accused by critics of taking a defeatist position on China and on defending Philippine sovereignty. He considers his approach is pragmatic and says challenging China risks triggering a war.

Mr Santa Romana said Mr Duterte’s attendance at the China summit should not be seen as the Philippines abandoning or “giving up” its claim of sovereignty in the South China Sea.

The previous Philippine government in 2013 filed a case with the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague to set the record straight on maritime boundaries. The tribunal did that last year, and invalidated China’s claim to sovereignty over most of the South China Sea.

Mr Duterte has put the ruling on the back burner and said he will revisit it later in his term.

Mr Santa Romana defended Duterte’s position, saying Manila was “proceeding from our own interests”.

China claims most of the energy-rich South China Sea through which about US$5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. Neighbours Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims.

Mr Duterte visited China in October for an ice-breaking trip after bilateral relations soured over the South China Sea under the previous Philippine administration of Benigno Aquino.