Philippines and China Acknowledge Bilateral Ties
For the next two years, the Philippines will be looking forward to more friendly dialogues with China, as stated by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). These series of talks will serve as an approach to strengthen further the relationship of the two countries.
On January 14, the ASEAN Countries together with China assembled for the 17th Foreign Ministry Consultations (FMC) in Beijing to discuss issures and topics as regards to their bilateral relations. Erlinda F. Basilio, DFA Undersecretary for Policy led the Philippine panel, as Liu Zhenmin led the Chinese panel. Undersecretary Basilio was also able to meet the Executive Vice Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in China, Zhang Zhijun.
The dialogues, as explained by the Undersecretary, aims to buildup the consensus attained by the Philippines and China at the highest levels during the State Visit to China of President Benigno S. Aquino III.
“The 17th FMC kicks off a series of high-level visits and meetings between the two governments and numerous cultural and people-to-people endeavors during the Philippines-China Years of Friendly Exhanges in 2012-2013”, according to the DFA.
It was also affirmed by the foreign office that “the two sides had friendly and constructive talks and affirmed the commitment of the two governments to promote the comprehensive development of bilateral relations suchs as in the areas of energy, science and technology, disaster mitigation and adaptation, law enforcement and maritime cooperation among others.”
The Spratly Islands issue had been an ongoing issue has been affecting the relations of both sides for years. Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Albert del Rosario had, then, agreed to maintain political, defense, and security cooperation with the Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister, Yang Jiechi.
According to the statement by the Chinese Foreign Office, the two officials“exchanged views on the maritime disputes and agreed not to let them affect the broader picture of friendship and cooperation between the two countries.”
According to a news agency in Beijing, Xinhua, the meeting concluded that 2011 as a “fruitful year” and it ended with a “consensus on the future works, including to speed up specific cooperation projects, and to host seminars on maritime disaster-relief, environment, rescue and biology research.”
Sources:
Department of Foreign Affairs. 15 January 2012. Philippines, China Pursue Consensus of President Aquino's Visit to China. Manila, Philippines. Retrieved from: http://dfa.gov.ph/main/index.php/newsroom/dfa-releases/4603-philippines…;
Esplanada, J. 17 January 2012. DFA: Expect Friendly Exchanges with China. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved from: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/22991/dfa-expect-friendly-exchanges-wi…;
Xinhua. 15 January 2012. China, ASEAN Countries Hold Meeting on China. Retrieved from: