PH-China relations have ‘normalized’ – PRRD
The Philippines has “normalized” its relations with China and now enjoys the “best of our relationship,” President Duterte revealed Sunday.
The President lauded the revitalized ties between the Philippines and China while Chinese Foreign Affairs Wang Yi was visiting his hometown Davao City over the weekend.
"First is that we are enjoying the best of our relationship,” Duterte said during the birthday celebration of former Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano in Davao City attended by the visiting Chinese official.
"We have normalized our relationship and I thank you China for all the things that you have done for me,” he added.
Foreign Minister Wang led the inauguration of the Chinese Consulate General in Davao Sunday.
Duterte told the Chinese foreign minister that the country was “very happy” with the improved trade relations between the two countries. He was grateful to China for opening its market to more local products including agricultural goods.
"I’d like to assure the Foreign Minister that the Philippines is very happy with our present trade and whatever agricultural consciousness of our race and the fact that you have provided livelihood at least to a lot of people if you think about the importations that you have allowed my country," he said.
"You practically said to the world that you are accepting any of the Philippine products that used to be not the case. Sometimes the ship of state has to seek the refuge of an island and we were always following the West though our country was sailing in rough waters," he said.
Bright prospects Foreign Affairs Secretary TeodoroLocsin Jr. welcomed the opening of the Chinese Consulate General in Davao City. “Being the biggest Philippine city in terms of land area, and the third largest in terms of population, the inauguration of the Chinese Consulate General here in Davao is an auspicious sign of the city’s promise and the bright prospects for our engagement with China,” Locsin said in his remarks.
“May this be a continued testament to an immemorial friendship, to a robust and interconnected relationship, and to sustained interactions between the Philippines and China as we promote our common goals to the mutual benefit of both our great nations,” he added.
Locsin also underscored what he called the “positive turnaround and vigorous momentum” in Philippines-China ties.
“The Philippines has always been a friend of China,” Locsin said as he recalled how he broke through the Western news embargo on China in 1967 to see for himself and tell the world of the progress that China had made.
“We have since enhanced our dialogue and consensus on many levels,” he said. “Our practical cooperation in many areas is reaping an early harvest of tangible benefits.”
Meanwhile, Locsin vowed to pursue an independent foreign policy by strengthening Manila’s relationship with its traditional allies and reaching out to new partners in the international community.
“My idea of an independent foreign policy is not to switch masters before whom we kneel but to get off our knees and stand on our feet and stand up for our country. That’s it,” Locsin told senior officials of the DFA in a meeting he called on Saturday, hours after arriving from New York.
Locsin served as Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York until his appointment as Manila’s top diplomat was announced by President Duterte.
Agreements signed Monday, Wang and Locsin witnessed the signing of agreements, namely the Exchange of Letters on the Feasibility Study of the Davao River Bridge Project (Bucana); the Handover Certificate of Law Enforcement-Related Materials/Equipment; and the Handover Certificate of Emergency Humanitarian Assistance.
“We are pleased with the results of our meeting and we look forward to the continued development of our bilateral relations to the mutual benefit of our two great peoples,” Locsin told reporters during a joint press briefing with the visiting Chinese official at the end of their meetings at the Marco Polo Hotel in Davao.
On talks concerning maritime cooperation in the volatile South China Sea, Locsin said the discussion is moving in a “positive direction.”
“While recognizing our differences and never compromising our respective core interests, we continue to discuss and explore avenues for maritime cooperation,” he said.
The Philippines, he said, “hold fast to our unwavering commitment to the Declaration of Conduct in the South China Sea.”
“Through respectful dialogue with each other and with our partners in ASEAN, we are moving forward with astonishing amity in the negotiations toward a Code of Conduct,” he added.
The two sides also discussed the forthcoming State Visit of Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Locsin pointed out that the meeting between Presidents Duterte and Xi will provide further direction to the intensifying cooperation between the two countries.
President Xi’s forthcoming visit to the Philippines will be the eighth of a Chinese leader since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1975.
Wang said setting up a Consulate General in Davao boosts subnational interactions between the two countries and highlighted Davao as a “pioneer and shining example.”
Wang said Chinese tourists are expected to flock to Davao and thanked the President and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio for opening the city’s “gate to China.” (With a report from Antonio L. Colina IV)