China wants PHL to send new envoy to Beijing

China’s top envoy to Manila on Friday expressed hope that the Philippine government would soon send a new ambassador to Beijing , a diplomatic post that has been vacant for more than a year. “We sincerely hope there will be an ambassador to Beijing to facilitate the communication between the two sides,” said China’s new ambassador Ma Keqing in her first press conference in Manila on Thursday. “Without an ambassador it’s not so convenient to convey messages or to communicate. So I hope there will soon be an ambassador to Beijing,” Ma said. The Philippine embassy in China has been without an ambassador since February 2011, following the recall of another political appointee and businessman Francisco Benedicto.  

President Benigno Simeon Aquino III’s nominee to China , businessman Domingo Lee, a close family friend of the Aquinos, has failed twice in getting the approval of the Commission on Appointments as it cited his lack of competence for the job.

 

Aquino has received criticisms for choosing Lee especially because the Philippines' bilateral ties with Beijing are being strained by issues about territorial spats in the contested Spratlys in the South China Sea.  

“In this crucial point in Manila’s relations with Beijing, it is important to have a competent ambassador who can handle complex diplomatic and international issues and is aggressive enough to uphold the country’s national interest,” said Lauro Baja Jr., former Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Policy and Philippine permanent representative to the United Nations. - VVP, GMA News