HEADLINE- Marcos, Qin meet to ‘iron things out’
President Marcos shakes hands with visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang at Malacañang yesterday
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MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines and China agreed to open more lines of communication to prevent escalation of tensions in the West Philippine Sea, President Marcos said yesterday following his meeting with visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang in Malacañang. Qin arrived in the country on Friday for a three-day official visit upon the invitation of Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo.
“As to the conflicts, we agreed to establish more lines of communication so that any event that occurs in the West Philippine Sea that involves China and the Philippines can immediately be resolved,” Marcos said, noting that “some of the pronouncements that have been made recently” by Manila and Beijing and “many other countries might be misinterpreted.”
“So we are currently working on that and are awaiting the Chinese response and we are confident that these issues would be worked out that would be mutually beneficial for both our nations,” he said.
Memento Maxima Digital MarketingMarcos said he and Qin were able to clarify statements from both countries that were deemed provocative by the other side.
“So today it was really useful that we were able to speak with Minister Qin Gang, the Foreign Minister of China, so we can talk directly to one another and iron things out,” the President said.
“It’s very, very useful and very, very productive that Minister Qin came here and that we were able to talk things a little bit through, make plans for the future, continue to work on growing the relationship between the Philippines and China, not only in the economic field but in the cultural and educational and other exchanges,” he said.
Qin and his delegation arrived in Malacañang at 4:52 p.m. Among those who joined the meeting was Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian, who made headlines last week over his call for Manila to oppose Taiwan independence and the expansion of security ties with the US.
Marcos was seen in a video patting Huang’s back as he shook hands with the ambassador prior to the start of their meeting, which was also attended by Manalo and other members of the Cabinet, including Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin and Presidential Communications Office Secretary Cheloy Garafil.
“Allow me to formally welcome you to the Philippines. We are very happy and very grateful that you have been able to find time and visit the Philippines,” Marcos told Qin.
Meeting with DFA chief
Earlier yesterday, Qin had a bilateral meeting with Manalo.
Qin’s visit came days before Marcos’ departure for the US for his second meeting with President Joe Biden.
Qin was appointed foreign minister in December last year and state councilor just last month.
In their meeting, Manalo and Qin reaffirmed their nations’ mutual commitment to “elevate our bilateral relations to even greater heights.”
“Together let us endeavor to elevate our bilateral relations to even greater heights under the administration of President Marcos, who shared the commitment with President Xi to do everything possible to ensure that Philippines-China relations will continue the positive trajectory of our relations, which was elevated to a comprehensive strategic cooperation since 2018,” Manalo said in his opening remarks in his meeting with Qin livestreamed on Facebook.
“We meet, coming from a strong beginning this year with the successful state visit of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to China and I continue to believe that this year bodes well for Philippines-China relations,” Manalo said.
“We need to work together to continue our tradition of friendship, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation and properly resolve our differences in the spirit of credibility, consultation and dialogue, and keep our promises to each other so as to bring more benefits to our two countries and people and inject greater positive energy to the peace and stability of this region and the whole world,” Qin said in response.
The DFA chief noted China’s readiness to host the 8th Bilateral Consultation Mechanism in China later this year.
“There is, of course, much work that needs to be done, especially as we look forward to prepare and celebrate the 50th anniversary of Philippine-China diplomatic relations in 2025,” he said. “Our leaders have agreed that our differences in the West Philippine Sea are not the sum total of our relations.”
He said the differences between the two countries should not prevent them from seeking ways to effectively manage issues, particularly the harassment of Filipino fishermen by Chinese coast guard and militia vessels in the West Philippine Sea.
Manalo said China has been the Philippines’ top trading partner for years even amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “I intend to work closely with Your Excellency in further strengthening those economic ties, starting with the further diversification of our economic relations and closing the trade gap between our two economies,” he said.
“I was pleased to learn that the investment pledges worth $22.8 billion made during the (Marcos) state visit (to China) are slowly being realized. Our cooperation in agriculture and infrastructure development, energy and science and technology are important elements of bilateral economic ties,” he said.
Qin said being invited to Manila for the meeting “is ample evidence of the great importance both sides attached to the maintenance and further enhancement of our bilateral relations.”
He added China and the Philippines “enjoy a millennial-old tradition of friendship.”
“Amid the ‘fluid’ and turbulent regional situation, a healthy and stable China-Philippines relationship is not only meeting the aspirations of our two peoples but also in line with the common aspirations of regional countries,” he said. – Cecille Suerte-Felipe
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