Manila: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will raise territorial disputes in the South China Sea with Beijing during his visit next week, the foreign ministry said Thursday.
The South China Sea is a strategic and resource-rich waterway that China claims almost entirely, but other countries including the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei have overlapping claims.
The Philippines has lodged hundreds of diplomatic protests against China’s activity in the region over the past few years after an international tribunal in The Hague rejected Beijing’s sweeping claims over the waterway in 2016.
But Chinese ships continue to be seen in areas claimed by the Philippines, known as the West Philippine Sea, and new military facilities and airstrips have also been developed there.
Marcos will make his first state visit to Beijing from January 3 to 5.
“The president seeks a peaceful and stable situation in the West Philippine Sea and will reaffirm our country’s sovereignty and integrity during his meetings with Chinese leaders,” Nathaniel Imperial, Under Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs, told reporters during a press briefing at the presidential palace. rights will be maintained.” ,
“In order to avoid miscalculations and miscommunications in the West Philippine Sea, the two sides have agreed to sign an agreement establishing communication, direct communication between the foreign ministries of the two countries at various levels.”
He said the deal to set up a hotline would be signed by Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo, who will accompany Marcos on the trip, and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.
Imperial said the Philippine president was also expected to push investment and trade cooperation talks, including joint oil and gas exploration, to be discussed by Marcos and the Chinese on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Bangkok in November. was launched by President Xi Jinping.
The planned hotline on the South China Sea is seen as a welcome development in the long-running dispute.
“Communication is always good as long as it’s meaningful,” said Bill Heaton, a fellow in the Asia-Pacific program at Chatham House.
“The problem is that China treats communication as a one-way street.”
But Stephen Cutler, an international security expert and former FBI attaché at the US embassy in Manila, said the establishment of the direct line signals a possible shift in Beijing’s stance.
“I think this is one way that China is realizing that they are not doing a good job of managing relations within the international community. And the hotline is one way of doing that,” he told Arab News.
“What I like about the way the Philippines is approaching its relationships is, unlike some of the past administrations, this one seems to be standing tall and straight. They’re not kneeling. They’re not bowing down to the Chinese. and they are expecting to be treated as peers.
Marcos’ immediate predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, took a more pro-Beijing approach, partly in an effort to distance the Philippines from the US, its major defense ally and former colonial master.
During his presidential campaign, Marcos, who took office in June, committed to continuing the warm relations started by Duterte, but not at the expense of sovereignty.