[ad_1]
MANILA, Philippines – Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian said on Friday that Manila and Beijing should focus more on joint development and cooperation rather than their conflicting claims about the South China Sea that he described as only “a small part” of relations between the two countries.
“The South China Sea problem is only a small part of the China-Philippines relations, or – as Foreign Secretary [Teodoro] Locsin said: just a small pebble in the avenue leading to our mutually beneficial economic progress. We must not trip over the pebble, ”Huang said in an online forum of the Association for Understanding between the Philippines and China.
Huang said both countries have taken the same approach since then-President Corazon Aquino visited China in April 1988 and then-Supreme Leader Deng Xiaoping said both countries could put aside disputes over the South China Sea and, instead, seek joint development.
Therefore, Huang said, Beijing will continue to engage with Manila in joint prevention and control of COVID-19 and share experiences on resuming work and production.
This, the envoy said, includes efforts to speed up urgently needed personnel exchanges and a “green corridor” for logistics to secure industrial supply chains.
“We must also take advantage of the new opportunities highlighted in the middle of the pandemic, to strengthen areas of digital economic cooperation such as 5G, big data and artificial intelligence to foster new growth engines for bilateral cooperation,” he said.
Freedom of navigation
Despite mounting criticism from the United States and its allies of China’s maritime claims, Huang said that all countries enjoy freedom of navigation in the South China Sea “in accordance with international law.”
“We must not allow outside powers to stir up the waters of the South China Sea, or derail the solid development of friendly relations between China and the Philippines. History has taught us time and again bitter lessons that the intervention of external powers could only bring tears and fire, confusion and unrest to the countries of the region at the end of the day, which would be the last thing we would like to see, ”he said. . .
Huang said peace and stability remain China’s “greatest strategic interest” in the South China Sea, which also serves the common core interests of the Philippines and the rest of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations).
‘This is not about me’
But former Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario on Friday advocated the resumption of the anti-China policy that he championed when he was secretary from 2011 to 2016.
“We wish to say that this is not about me. It’s about our compatriots and the Western Philippine Sea. It is about China illegally taking over our lands and waters, that our ancestors fought for us and our children and grandchildren. It is about China taking our food, oil and gas that are part of our national heritage reserved for the Filipinos to help our country live and prosper, “said Del Rosario.
The former secretary said his position in the Western Philippine Sea had always been constant.
He said his campaign had focused on fishermen driven away from their fishing grounds by the Chinese, the coral reef systems that were destroyed in the recovery.
Read next
EDITOR’S SELECTION
MOST READ
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer and more than 70 other titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download from 4am and share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.
For comments, complaints or inquiries, please contact us.
[ad_2]
