VP Binay: Gusot sa Panatag Shoal, maaaring maresolba nang mapayapa

Sa kabila ng dalawang buwang standoff sa pagitan ng Pilipinas at China sa Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, nanatiling "intact" pa rin umano ang samahan ng dalawang bansa, inihayag ni Vice President Jejomar Binay nitong weekend.

 

Inihayag ito ni Binay sa naganap na pagdiriwang ng "Filipino-Chinese Friendship Day' sa Manila, kung saan ipinagdiwang ang ika-37 taong pagkakaibigan ng Manila at Beijing.

 

"No friendship shall ever be perfect. There will be tests and challenges, and our shared path has seen and will continue to encounter twists and turns," ani Binay.

 

"We are commemorating the generous gift of friendship between the Filipinos and the Chinese. This gift has brought great joy to all of us and bound by our fraternal concern for each other, we work hard to ensure that nothing but joy shall be shared by our succeeding generations," dagdag niya.

 

Nagsimula ang pinakahuling alitan ng China at Pilipinas noong Abril 8 kung saan nakahuli ang Philippine Navy ng walong Chinese fishing boats na umano'y ilegal na nangisda at nanguha ng endangered marine species sa Panatag Shoal.

 

Ngunit bago mahuli ng Philippine authorities ang mga poacher, hinarangan ng dalawang Chinese marine vessles ang Hamilton class BRP Gregorio del Pilar ng Philippine Navy sa kanilang paglapit sa mga fishing boat.

 

Sa kabila ng gusot, naniniwala si Binay na maaayos pa rin ito "between friends."

 

"There are those who would be quick to look at the obstacles along that road and plead with us to abandon the voyage altogether. But the richness of our past gives us the certainty that all things can be settled not just peacefully but justly between friends," aniya. — Amanda Fernandez/RSJ, GMA News