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CHINESE
Ambassador to the Philippines Song Tao has admitted that
bilateral relations between
Beijing and
Manila
continue to face challenges both on trade and political
issues, but asserted that the two countries have kept
their ties strong in the last 33 years.
This was
the assessment of the Chinese envoy in Manila as the two
countries marked 33 years of diplomatic relations on
June 9.
Relations between the two countries were recently
strained by the revival of the conflicting claims on the
oil-rich Spratly Islands amid criticisms of the Joint
Marine Seismic Undertaking that they signed with
Vietnam. The seismic undertaking seeks to explore marine
resources in the disputed islands that are believed to
have rich oil resources.
Their
bilateral relations have also suffered a serious
challenge after President Arroyo, facing criticism over
allegations of bribery and overprice in the national
broadband network deal with Chinese telecom giant ZTE,
was forced to abort the $330-million project.
Ambassador Song said that in the last 33 years, China
has maintained a “pragmatic cooperation with the
Philippines on political, trade, tourism and cultural
aspects.”
“But the
amicable relationship today between the Philippines and
China does not come easily,” said Ambassador Song in his
speech at the 33rd anniversary celebration of
Philippines-China diplomatic relations held Monday night
at the plenary hall of the Philippine International
Convention Center (PICC) in Manila.
He said
the importance of the
Philippines
to China has been shown in the frequent exchange of
high-level visits by officials of both countries.
Meanwhile, Philippine House Speaker Prospero Nograles
urged China to help the Philippines in pushing for a
peaceful settlement of the conflicting claims to the
Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.
Amid
skyrocketing fuel prices, the international community,
specifically Western countries, have been watching
China’s behavior on its claim on the Spratly Islands.
The general apprehension among other claimants is that
China might be more aggressive in its claim to be able
to meet the needs of its oil-hungry economy.
“With
strong friendship between the Philippines and China, the
conflicting claims on the South China can be resolved,”
said Nograles in his speech. “The two countries can take
the lead to show the world what international diplomacy
means.”
Besides
China and the Philippines, others claiming the Spratly
Islands in whole or in part are Vietnam, Taiwan and
Malaysia.
Speaker
Nograles likewise urged China, as an emerging economic
giant, to continue to help the Philippines pursue
economic growth.
Close to
a thousand Chinese-Filipinos filled up the PICC plenary
hall to celebrate Philippines-China diplomatic relations
as well as the seventh anniversary of the Filipino-Sino
Friendship Association.
The
program opened with a moment of silence as the
Chinese-Filipinos prayed for close to 70,000 Chinese
killed in a 7.9-magnitude quake in Sichuan province.
Peter Ty,
president of the Federation of the Filipino-Chinese
Association, said the progress of
China
today should also be attributed to the hard work of the
overseas Chinese, including 2 million in the
Philippines, who remain “altruistic” in contributing to
mainland
China.
He said,
“Various crises that include earthquake and Tibet’s
clamor for independence will not dampen the strength of
China today.” |
