PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping have discussed the arbitral ruling on the hotly-contested South China Sea in a “very friendly” manner, Malacañang said Friday, August 30.
Despite opposing views on the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s 2016 ruling on the South China Sea, the two leaders let their “mutual respect” for each other to prevail, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo told reporters in an interview in China.
“Very friendly,” Panelo said, when asked to describe the mood during Duterte and Xi’s discussion about the sea ruling.
“Obviously, the two have mutual respect for each other, if not admiration. We understand that President Xi is reputed to be one who is against corruption and I think he can relate with President Duterte on that aspect,” he added.
Duterte, who is currently in China for an official visit, finally invoked the Philippines’ historic win on the arbitral ruling during his eighth meeting with Xi on Thursday, August 29.
On July 12, 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in favor of Manila’s petition against Beijing’s claims to almost the entire South China Sea.
Panelo said the President raised the arbitral ruling in a “friendly, assertive, unequivocal manner.”
Xi, meantime, was “not offended by the President raising that issue” despite insistence that China would not acknowledge the arbitral award, the Palace official added.
“Obviously, what the President wanted was for them, for the Chinese government to recognize the arbitral ruling. But from the inception, the Chinese government did not recognize,” he said.
Panelo said it did not come as a surprise to Duterte that China would also insist on its position to ignore the ruling on the maritime disputes,
“I think he (Duterte) expected that (China’s firm stance on South China Sea) because from the very start, that was their position even prior to the visit. But nevertheless, as he committed himself to the Filipino people and to Mr. Xi himself, he raised that issue... Our position is also the same, we are not changing ours,” Panelo said.
But since the sea disputes remain “unresolved,” Panelo said Duterte and Xi agreed to address the issue “peacefully.”
Panelo added that the two leaders pledged that their respective governments would avoid any actions “that could trigger any hostilities” within the busy waterway.
“They both agreed after that the conflict issue should not be the sum total of the relationship between the two countries. That they should move forward, but at the same time, continue with the dialogue peacefully on that issue,” he said.
“What they have agreed upon is both countries will refrain or avoid performing aggressive or provocative acts that will trigger incidents that have been done before. Both of them agreed that they should observe international law and Unclos (United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea) for the regional peace and security,” Panelo added. (SunStar Philippines)