Ramos yet to reject Duterte on talking with China, says Palace

Former President Fidel Ramos has yet to reject the request of President Rodrigo Duterte for him to help in the negotiations with China, presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said Friday.

GMA News TV's Balita Pilipinas quoted Abella as saying that Dutete had chosen Ramos because he considered the latter a wise statesman.

Abella also said if ever Ramos thumbs down Duterte’s offer, there are other options available to the president to address the concern.

In a speech during a testimonial dinner in his honor at the Club Filipino, Duterte asked Ramos to go to China to initiate bilateral talks with the country's leaders.

"War is not an option. So what’s the other side? Peaceful talks. I cannot give you the wherewithal now. I want to consult many people including President Ramos. I would like to respectfully ask him to go to China and start the talks," the President said.

The offer came after the Philippines scored a victory against China in a landmark ruling by an international tribunal that invalidated China’s massive claims in the resource-rich waters of the South China Sea.

The ruling said there was no evidence that China had historically exercised exclusive control over the South China Sea and its resources.

‘Perfect guy’

A political analyst said Ramos was the "perfect guy" to be sent to Beijing.

Calling Ramos a "respected" Asian leader, De La Salle University professor Richard Heydarian praised Ramos' skills in diplomacy, especially when China occupied Mischief Reef halfway through his presidency in 1995.

Heydarian said Ramos had taken measures to prevent the maritime row from breaking out into open conflict such as beefing up the country's defenses and persuading the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to express concern over China's occupation of the Manila-claimed reef.

"FVR (Ramos) was in the middle of the chessboard when China took control of the Mischief Reef. He found a peaceful compromise," Heydarian said. "It cooled down tensions during that time."

"FVR preserved the overall constructive relations we had with China which is why economic ties were not severed," he added.

Two decades later, Ramos was asked to play the peacemaker again with President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday making an open invitation to the former leader to help settle the sea row through diplomacy.

The offer came two days after the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled against Beijing's expansive claims in the resource-rich sea, which encroached on areas falling under Manila's 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.

Ramos, however, appeared non-committal, citing old age and "bigger commitments in terms of peace the world and sustainable development." —Amita Legaspi and Virgil Lopez/NB, GMA News