Legarda: Strengthened bilateral team would bring ‘needed balance’ to Philippine-China ties

Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda on Friday expressed hope that the bilateral team which will be strengthened by President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. would bring the "needed balance" to the relationship between the Philippines and China.

"We only hope the reassurances to our fishermen and the high-level bilateral team with full access to their Presidents will bring the needed balance to Philippine-China relations," Legarda said in a statement.

The lawmaker issued the remark a day after Marcos said he expects lessened tensions and incidents of harassment in the West Philippine Sea following his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The President said he proposed the strengthening of a bilateral team that would discuss issues in the resource-rich region during his meeting with the Chinese leader.

"That’s entirely the point of having the bilateral team. It’s continuing to discuss but as I said, I wanted to raise the level of discussion to maybe a ministerial level with direct access to both Presidents," Marcos told reporters.

"The intention of course is to minimize all of these ‘incidents,’ siyempre ‘yung report nila naiba doon sa report natin,” he added.

Legarda also expressed delight over Marcos' discussion of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea during his state visit, saying this along with the 2016 Hague ruling "should continue to be the basis of this new relationship being forged."

"Since the start of the administration, the President has emphasized that we will have an independent foreign policy, we will be a friend to all and an enemy to none. In the face of changing geopolitical conditions, we need to keep exploring avenues of open communications without sacrificing our rights and the benefits from our resources," she said.

"The President's state visit to China, and the planned state visit to the United States of America in the middle of the year, clearly signal how crucial it is to find mutual interests and common ground," she added.

Although he said that the WPS bilateral mechanism has been in place since the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III said strengthening it is a "good move."

"Maybe the Marcos admin’s improvement is in the composition of the [Philippine-China South China Sea/West Philippine Sea Committee]. The President says he will appoint people who have direct access to him. Good move and I hope this really happens," the minority leader told GMA News Online.

During his state visit, Marcos also raised the plight of Filipino fishermen in the WPS in his bilateral meeting with the Chinese president. 

Marcos said they agreed to find a compromise and find measures that will be beneficial to Filipino fishermen.

The Philippines and China also signed an agreement for the establishment of a communication mechanism on maritime issues between the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) of the Philippines and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China.

This deal is meant to prevent miscommunications and misunderstandings in the West Philippine Sea.

Diplomatic protests have been filed over alleged Chinese harassment of Filipino fishermen.

On the other hand, Pimentel said it is up for the Philippines to "take advantage" of China's offer to buy up to $2 billion worth of Philippine agricultural products which, he said, was proposed since the early years of the Duterte administration.

Around $2.09 billion in purchase intentions for Philippine fruit exports was secured by the Marcos administration during their China visit, which includes durian, coconut, and bananas.

Marcos said at least four companies already expressed their intention to purchase more Philippine tropical fruit products, especially durian.

He added that fresh fruits, including Cavendish bananas, have been the top drivers of Philippine agricultural exports to China. — DVM, GMA Integrated News