Trade, sovereignty among topics in Philippines-China bilateral talks

BANGKOK, Thailand — Trade, investments, and sovereignty issues are among the topics to be discussed in the bilateral meeting between leaders of the Philippines and China later on Thursday afternoon, a top official has said.

House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, who will attend the discussions, said among those expected in attendance are his cousin President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo, and Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual.

“I’m sure that we’ll talk about many issues, of course, this being the APEC, the economic issues will be of course foremost in the minds,” Romualdez told reporters in an interview on the sidelines of the APEC Summit.

Marcos is scheduled to meet with his counterpart Chinese President Xi Jinping at around 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) announced earlier on Thursday.

“Trade and investments, and those related to current levels of what we have right now and how we can enhance it and even make it better, I think that will be the main thrust in the milieu of APEC,” Romualdez said.

Romualdez said that sovereignty issues could also be raised after the President just last week said he hoped to discuss issues regarding the West Philippine Sea with his Chinese counterpart.

“With respect to the West Philippine Sea issue, I think it’s very clear the position,” he said.

Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) show that China was the fifth-largest export trading partner of the Philippines with $905.07 million or 12.6% of the total shipments sent out from the country in September.

In terms of imports, China was the top source of goods for the Philippines, supplying some $2.39 billion or 20.0% of total imports for the month.

This comes nearly a decade after the Philippines in 2013 challenged China over its claims on the West Philippine Sea, where Manila scored a victory and a landmark ruling by an international tribunal that invalidated Beijing’s claims.

China has refused to acknowledge the ruling, and was accused by the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) just last June of illegal fishing and preventing local vessels from carrying out a resupply mission to the Ayungin Shoal.

“Obviously, we’ll start out with the One China Policy which makes everyone happy, so that’s clear. That’s the underlying principle,” Romualdez said.

“With respect to the concerns, the issues there, I think we have the arbitral ruling that’s been reiterated in the ASEAN by many other partner nations and so we don’t even have to go there anymore because that’s already been established,” he added.

Sought for comment on the role to be played by Arroyo in the bilateral meeting, Romualdez said she has long served as an adviser to Marcos and she will continue to provide counsel.

“PGMA is definitely a big asset. Her reputation, her track record needs no introduction to anyone and her advice, her counsel to our President, President Marcos, right now is invaluable,” he said.

“PGMA has always been of good counsel to President Marcos. President Marcos respects PGMA a lot for she has a lot of experience, she was a brilliant president, very experienced,” he added.

Marcos just last week said he told Chinese officials on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit to uphold international law and follow the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) ruling regarding the disputed areas.

The bilateral meeting also comes days ahead of the scheduled visit of United States Vice President Kamala Harris in the Philippine islands of Palawan on the edge of the disputed waters.

“I think this is all very good, and the Philippines will be playing a very key role in making sure that there is a balance in terms of presence in the region,” Romualdez said. -NB, GMA Integrated News