Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos said yesterday he hoped to strengthen ties with Beijing on his first state visit to China since taking office.
China and the Philippines are at odds over the hotly disputed South China Sea, with Marcos expected to sign a deal in Beijing this week to establish direct communication on maritime issues. Manila considers it “of primary importance to... strengthen the relationship between China and the Philippines”, Marcos said in a meeting yesterday with top Chinese legislator Li Zhanshu.
Marcos, who met Chinese President Xi Jinping, said he hoped for “partnerships that will stabilise and strengthen all of our economies”.
Up to 14 bilateral agreements are expected to be signed during Marcos’s visit, which ends today. The Philippine government said last week both sides would sign a communication agreement to “avoid miscalculation and miscommunication in the West Philippine Sea”, referring to the part of the South China Sea that it claims.
Marcos has insisted he will not let China trample on the Philippines’ maritime rights in the area - in contrast to his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, who was reluctant to criticise the superpower. The Philippines ordered its military last month to boost its presence in the contested waters after a Bloomberg report that China had started reclaiming several unoccupied land features around the Spratly Islands. Beijing claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea and has ignored an international court ruling that its claims have no legal basis. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei have overlapping claims to parts of it. Marcos said on Tuesday before leaving for China he hoped to address “political security issues of a bilateral and regional nature”. “The issues between our two countries are problems that do not belong between two friends,” he said.
China is ready to resume oil and gas talks and manage maritime issues “cordially” with the Philippines, China President Xi Jinping said yesterday, according to Chinese state television. Xi was speaking to his Philippines counterpart Ferdinand Marcos Jr, who was on a three-day visit to Beijing.
Beijing territorial claims in the South China Sea, which is rich in oil, gas and fish and where about $3tn in ship-borne trade passes annually, had been a source of tension between it and some southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines.
The Philippines had previously raised concerns over reported Chinese construction activities and the “swarming” of Beijing’s vessels in disputed waters of the South China Sea. While the Philippines is a defence ally of the United States, under previous leader Rodrigo Duterte it set aside a territorial spat over the South China Sea in exchange for Chinese investment. Xi told Marcos yesterday that China is willing to jointly explore oil and gas resources in the non-disputed areas of the sea, co-operate with the Philippines on solar and wind energy, and increase imports of fishery products.
Xi also promised wide co-operation, from support for Chinese investment to the Philippines, to helping its neighbour develop its villages and agricultural technology, basic education, meteorology and space, and vaccines. Marcos’s visit comes as Xi reopens China’s borders to the world after three year of isolation to guard against the Covid-19 pandemic. Xi greeted Marcos without masks as both men attended a welcome ceremony in the Great Hall of the People, a grand building in the heart of the capital. Marcos also met Chinese outgoing Premier Li Keqiang and Parliament chief Li Zhanshu yesterday.