Beijing commends Duterte for commitment to bilateral ties

By Patricia Lourdes Viray via Philstar

MANILA, Philippines -- Beijing has welcomed President Rodrigo Duterte's decision to visit China despite the maritime dispute over the South China Sea, part of which Manila claims and calls the West Philippine Sea.

 

The president is scheduled to visit China on Oct. 20 and 21. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said that China was hoping that Duterte would make his visit at an earlier date.

 

"We commend President Duterte's attachment of importance to China-Philippines relations, and believe that high-level exchanges will contribute to bilateral friendly cooperation and regional peace, stability, development and prosperity," Geng said in a press briefing on Tuesday.

 

Geng stressed that both China and the Philippines are willing to improve bilateral operations and carry out mutually beneficial cooperation.

 

"We are also willing to enhance pragmatic cooperation across the board, achieve mutually beneficial and win-win results, and deliver benefits to the two countries and peoples," Geng said.

 

The president earlier said that he will ask China to allow Filipinos to fish in Scarborough Shoal --also known as Panatag and Baja de Masinloc -- which is within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines but which China has de facto control over.

 

Duterte said that he will set aside the maritime dispute during his trip to China.

 

In July, an international arbitral court ruled in a case filed by the Philippines that China's nine-dash line claim over a large part of the South China Sea had no legal basis. China has refused to acknowledge the ruling and has insisted that the dispute should be settled in direct talks between claimants.