Disagreements with China not sum of its relations with PH —Marcos

BEIJING - President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Wednesday said “disagreements” with China should not define its relationship with the Philippines.

Marcos mentioned this during his meeting with Li Zhanshu, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress.

“We view the future as we view… with our partners and China being our largest trading partner… we feel that we must strengthen those ties and we must strengthen the cooperation at every level,” said Marcos, who is in China for a state visit.

“And I believe that although there may be some difficulties and there may be some disagreements as had happened, as what happened between all…  I believe that this cannot be… we must not allow that [to be] the sum of our relationship,” he added.

“It is part of our relationship, it is something that we must attend to, it is something that we should discuss as friends and try to resolve in the most peaceful [way].”

Marcos emphasized that the relationship between the Philippines and China is not only about the issue on the South China Sea.

“That is not the only relationship we have with China. It is not over the South China Sea,” he said, adding that the relationship extends to commerce, culture, education, trade and investment.

In 2013, the Philippines challenged China over its massive claims on the West Philippine Sea. Manila scored a victory in a landmark ruling by an international tribunal which invalidated Beijing’s claims.

China has since refused to acknowledge the ruling, and was accused by the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) just last June of illegal fishing and preventing local vessels from carrying out a resupply mission to the Ayungin Shoal.

Marcos said his state visit to China reaffirms the ties between Manila and Beijing, noting that the strategic relationship between the two countries is also significant for the Asia Pacific region.

Marcos, who arrived in China on Tuesday night, is set return to the Philippines on January 5, Thursday. —KBK, GMA Integrated News