Marcos: PH to push for more collaboration with China

JAKARTA, Indonesia — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has said that the Philippines will continue to seek more partnerships and collaborations with China.

According to a Facebook post from the Presidential Communications Office on Thursday, Marcos told Chinese Premier Li Qiang “that the Philippines will continue to push for cooperation with China and work towards more partnerships and collaboration.”

Marcos and Li “briefly confer” after the ASEAN-China Summit on Wednesday.

During the said summit, Marcos reiterated the Philippines’ assertion of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the rule of law in settling maritime disputes during the 26th ASEAN-China Summit here.

“We must emphasize that practical cooperation in the maritime domain can only flourish with an enabling environment of regional peace, security, and stability, anchored in international law,” Marcos said in his intervention at the said summit.

“The Philippines therefore continues to uphold the primacy of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea as the framework within which all activities in the seas and oceans are conducted. We once again reaffirm our commitment to the rule of law and peaceful settlement of disputes,” he added.

The Philippine president also reported significant progress in the crafting of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.

“We are pleased that at the last negotiations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea held in Manila a few weeks ago, that some progress was made in discussing the milestone issues and a preliminary review of the Single Draft Negotiating Text,” Marcos said.

“The early conclusion of an effective and substantive COC that is in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS, remains the goal for ASEAN and for China,” he added.

South China Sea

Prior to the ASEAN-China Summit, Marcos called on ASEAN during the Retreat Session not to allow  international order to be challenged by any “hegemonic ambition” in the South China Sea (SCS).

Marcos made the appeal after he called out “misleading narratives that frame the disputes in the SCS solely to the lens of strategic competition between two powerful countries.”

The ASEAN Summit with China is the latest instance that Marcos talked to a high-ranking official from China. This came a few days after Beijing released its new 10-dash line and a few weeks after the water cannon incident, which heightened tension between the Philippines and China, happened in the West Philippine Sea.

In August, Marcos said a note verbale was sent to Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian following the latest incident in Ayungin Shoal where the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) used water cannons and performed alleged dangerous maneuvers against Philippine vessels.

The CCG said it had taken "necessary controls" against Philippines boats that had "illegally" entered its waters.

Several countries  — led by the United States, Australia, Japan, and Canada — expressed support for Manila and criticized China's actions, the latest in the string of several reported incidents of harassment against Philippine vessels this year.

Li on Wednesday, meanwhile, claimed that Beijing's  “good neighborly friendship” with ASEAN member-states has become stronger.

“We have been committed to mutual assistance and our good neighborly friendship has become stronger… We seek common ground while setting aside differences, properly handles disagreements through dialogues and consultations and consistently deepen practical cooperation in the traditional and non-traditional security views,” the Chinese official said at the ASEAN-China Summit. —VAL, GMA Integrated News