Palace says sea ‘irritants’ to be resolved through talks

Territorial incursions raised by President Rodrigo Duterte during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jingping last week would be resolved via bilateral talks, Malacanang said yesterday.In a press briefing, Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo said that while Xi had reiterated Beijing’s claims to the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) or WPS, he also expressed willingness to discuss “irritants” such as the increased presence of Chinese vessels in disputed areas.“Both of them agree that the mechanism of bilateral relations will be used to resolve the conflict,” Panelo told reporters.He added that the government was optimistic of “positive” results, but also admitted that much still had to be done.“The next movement will be the negotiation. They already talked about the irritants. But, if you were to ask me, we have to wait for their official response about our complaints,” he said.Duterte, who has courted Beijing’s favour and set aside an international arbitral ruling that upheld the Philippines’ claims, recently toughened his stance against continued Chinese incursions.Reports that Chinese vessels were circling Philippine-held Pagasa (Thitu) Island prompted the president to warn of “suicide missions.” He also demanded that Chines fishers stop the harvesting of giant clams in Scarborough Shoal. “We raised certain protests. We still do not know if they are affirming or disputing it. Because if they dispute it, we will talk and insist that it is not true,” Panelo said.“What is that? Who is that? Why is it there? What are they doing there? We do not know the answers to that yet,” he added.The Palace spokesman also said the Philippines did not have to ask for China’s permission to declare parts of the West Philippine Sea as marine protected areas.“As far as we are concerned, that is ours. You do not have to ask any consent from anyone,” he said.